Payments platform Token has underlined the significant role it’s playing in driving Open Banking in the UK.
According to the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) a total of 210% growth was recorded in Open Banking payments from April 2021 to April 2022, with Token claiming responsiblity for over 20% of the traffic. Further information about the UK’s Open Banking sector detailed that the end of 2021 boasted a total volume of 26.6 million payments, a noticeable spike of more than 500% compared to 12 months prior.
Riding the wave of the tech’s rapid adoption and reaping the rewards it brings to the company, Token recently re-enforced its front lines with the addition of two new hires in the faces of Charles Damen as the new Chief Product Officer, and Artashes Torosyan taking the role of Token’s Chief Technology Officer. This all comes off the back of a recent $40m funding round that will certainly strengthen Token’s ambitions of being a leader in the Open Banking space.
The firm’s toolkit provides businesses with access to new revenue streams that blend API-based payments and data. Token also acts as a gateway to Open Banking platforms Volt and TransfrPro. Merchants are also a target group, with Token partnering up with ShoppingOS to support the WooCommerce plug-in that allows for Open Banking payments.
Promoting the use of Open Banking is just a part of Token’s strategy, however, as the company looks to make all account-to-account (A2A) payments the standard across the UK and Europe. Token CEO Todd Clyde sees A2A transactions as the ultimate challenger to card payments, with the latter eventually losing its prominence in the global economy.
He commented: “We’re seeing a huge, and growing, appetite for A2A payments across the UK and Europe, with the market recognising they represent the future – fast, fair, and frictionless.
“As A2A payments increase, the use of traditional payment methods, such as cards, is set to decline. FIS WorldPay’s 2022 Global Payments Report, for example, predicts that by 2025 cards will account for less than a third of global e-commerce transaction value.”
Token notes that a particularly prominent use case for A2A payments is that the tech can be used for loading wallets or digital accounts. Some of the firm’s notable partners that help it fuel the A2A revolution are Mastercard, HSBC, and a range of PSPs such as Trust Payments, Nuvei, Everpay, eCommpay, Straal and Contis.
Clyde continued: “Our laser-sharp focus on payments has enabled us to develop deep functionality that makes accepting direct A2A payments elegant and simple. We’ve adopted an approach that empowers other players in the payment value chain to bring A2A payments, and the benefits associated with them, to their customers.
“We’re now processing tens of millions of open payments annually for the UK and Europe’s payment service providers (PSPs), gateways, banks, and large merchants.”
Research specialist Juniper predicts that global Open Banking payments will exceed $116bn by 2026, which equals an astounding 2800% increase in just five years.
