The German Open Banking space has been expanded by the launch of Brite Instant Payments, completing Brite Payments’ full solution in the country.
Brite, a Swedish fintech, announced the launch of Brite Instant Payments in Germany today (24 April), enabling instant account-to-account (A2A) payments and payouts based on Europe’s Open Banking infrastructure.
This is not to say that the company has put its full faith in the European Open Banking network, however. The firm noted that it has relied on its own proprietary Brite Instant Payments Network (Brite IPN), for instant processing.
The group did this to overcome the fragmentation of Europe’s existing real-time payments landscape. This comes at a time when many European countries both in and out of the EU – notably the UK in the latter example – look to strengthen Open Banking regulatory and commercial frameworks.
Lena Hackelöer, Founder & CEO, Brite Payments, said: “We now offer a complete solution to the German market – covering Instant Payments in addition to Instant Payouts – and can serve the needs of even more merchants and businesses.
“2024 is the year that A2A payments, or Pay by Bank, looks set to enter mainstream consciousness, and as the EU’s most populous country and the third-largest economy in the world, Germany represents enormous untapped potential.”
Brite has hit the ground running with its Open Banking product, having secured a client from the onset in Auctionet, an existing partner which will utilise the instant payments product at auction houses across Europe. This arrangement will now be rolled out in Germany.
The company has identified significant opportunities in Germany, citing research conducted with YouGov showing that 67% of Germans are familiar with Pay by Bank or A2A payments, although this is less than in the UK, Netherlands and Spain.
Regardless, Pay by Bank is used by 38% of Germans for online purchases at least monthly, the same as credit cards but behind digital wallets (53%). A further 40% state that they are willing to try new forms of online payment, more than 34% in the UK and 33% in France.
The German-launch follows a year of expansion for Brite last year. The company took its Open Banking product to Belgium and Denmark, whilst looking to tap into Open Banking interest across the Eurozone by widening the reach of the aforementioned IPN.
“Consumers now expect real-time interactions across all digital touchpoints and in all facets of their lives,” Hackelöer continued.
“Far from being a laggard, our recent research shows the German market has huge growth potential for instant bank payments, as consumers seek online payments that are secure, without sacrificing convenience.
“Familiarity with bank transfer payment methods is already high, indicating a market that is primed for adoption of our user-friendly instant payments.”
