Boosting its payment capabilities, OpenPayd has announced it has landed direct access to the SEPA payment scheme (Single Euro Payments Area).
The new integration will see customers of the API-first Banking-as-a-Service provider – predominantly online marketplaces, merchant acquirers and other high growth fintechs – benefit from fast and cost-effective payment processing across the 36 participating nations of the SEPA scheme, including all EU member states and EEA members.
Prior to obtaining direct access, OpenPayd integrated with SEPA via an agency bank partner. Now, OpenPayd can submit payments directly into the scheme on behalf of its customers, reducing payment processing time.
Adam Bialy, Chief Product Officer at OpenPayd, commented: “Friction with bank payment services is one of the biggest challenges for modern businesses. It’s often painful, expensive and slow to move money around. The ability to process intra-European payments quickly is vital to a number of B2B use cases and in the specific case of online marketplaces the merchants that transact on their platforms.
“By providing our customers with direct access to SEPA, in addition to our existing payments schemes connectivity, we’re helping our business customers meet ever rising demands of their customers and maintain a competitive advantage in today’s increasingly congested market.”
He added: “Our customers feel the effects of the ever-changing nature of cross-border business every day, and for them, speed and cost are of the essence. If our customer can process a cross-border transaction faster than their competitors, they have a huge market advantage. By improving our SEPA functionality, we’re ensuring our customers keep that edge to remain competitive.”
Direct SEPA access is the latest addition to OpenPayd’s Banking-as-a-Service platform which also facilitates access to other vital payment schemes including BACS, CHAPS, Faster Payments and SWIFT. Due to the company’s sizeable number of electronic money licenses, OpenPayd can also issue Euro denominated IBANs for its business customers to help streamline various collection and payout use cases within the Eurozone.
