Ushering new-generation payments

A changing regulatory environment, the ongoing digital transformation and the current health situation have all had a significant impact on the world of payment. The result has been reflected in a record number of transactions processed in the last two years, leveraging sometimes the innovative services provided by fintechs. Many startups, as well as tech giants, have therefore entered the payment/finance sphere, offering cheaper and yet very efficient, user-friendly solutions that provide customers with seamless and frictionless experiences.

Open Banking-enabled secure, low-cost, and increasingly instant payments

‘One of the main goals of PSD2, along with giving access to account information to more entities, was to enable the initiation of payment directly from a bank account, and therefore to stimulate competition – and eventually innovation – within the European market,’ first explains Ramzi Dziri, highlighting that regulation has – and still is – playing a key role in the development of innovative financial services.

Recently, the European Commission once more expressed its ambition to further embark on this journey, with the desire to enable instant payments in Europe in the years to come, and even to turn the continent into a global leader in this sector that is currently dominated by US giants. As highlighted by commissioner McGuinness, ‘instant payments are seen as a game-changer. The benefits go beyond speed and round-the-clock availability. When combined with new add-on services – such as ‘request to pay’ – they can support innovative business models, like payment initiation services’. 

Moreover, the current context – from the ever-growing digital transformation impacting all companies to the pandemic that is still shaking the world and transforming the habits of consumers – also favoured the development of new means of payment, with constant growth in the percentage of non-cash payments. ‘The demand for digital is unprecedented and the newer generations are eager to use digital and intuitive solutions,’ comments the expert.

According to Capgemini’s latest World Payments Report, pandemic-accelerated transformation has forced payment firms to replace ongoing engagement with value-added and embedded experiences. The report also highlights that instant payments and e-money have emerged as preferred methods and will account for more than 25% of global non-cash transactions by 2025, a 10-point increase compared to 2020.

Leveraging the potential of Open Banking

A lot of opportunities are therefore arising, and companies – whether they be financial institutions, corporates, or smaller businesses – are invited to look beyond PSD2 compliance.

Digital account-to-account payments are one of those key opportunities offered in this Open Banking world, suiting the new needs of customers – immediacy, transparency, security, ease of use through a single app – and companies – lower fees by roughly half, compared to leading Payment Service Providers (PSPs), better conversion rates, and reduced number of failed transactions as the account balance is checked in real-time. 

Moreover, using such Payment Initiation Services also gives companies, for instance, online merchants, access to more customers: according to the World Bank Global Financial Inclusion survey, surprisingly, only 46% of over 15, in Europe, own a credit card when over 95% of them have a bank account (World Bank Global Financial Inclusion report, 2017). 

Finally, end customers benefit from a secure solution, via their existing bank credentials to access, without having to sign up for a new and additional service. Ramzi Dziri explains: ‘it reduces the overall number of steps to pay, increasing the conversion rate, thanks to a unified flow and a seamless experience. Payment actually becomes an integrated part of the customer experience’.

LUXHUB and DHN enable the payment of medical invoices in Luxembourg

Thanks to its PISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider) license, obtained in 2021 from local regulator CSSF, LUXHUB is well-equipped to offer such revolutionary payment services to SMEs, larger corporations, and even public administrations, willing to use an innovative, secure, and transparent service.

On the one hand, the fintech now enables all companies/associations to efficiently enter the world of Open Banking, benefiting from banking/payment solutions directly within their own websites and/or apps. On the other hand, it aims at providing end-customers with a seamless and frictionless experience, from A to Z, from purchasing/accessing the services or goods, and eventually paying.

To take a concrete example, LUXHUB will power the upcoming digital payment capability for DHN (Digital Health Network), whose goal is to improve each Luxembourgish citizen's healthcare journey. ‘Patients will be able to check, pay, and share invoices directly from their phones: first, after a consultation, the doctor issues an invoice and sends it to his/her patient’s DHN mobile application app, GesondheetsApp. The former approves it, and with LUXHUB’s ONE PAY digital payment solution running in the back, pays the invoice, sending the amount to the doctor’s bank account and triggering the transmission of the paid invoice details to public and private social security services for reimbursement’, explains Ramzi Dziri. 

Using this new solution will henceforth allow patients to proceed immediately to the payment of open invoices without having to enter any payment details. That reduces potential payment failures for health service providers, as well as costly reminder and reconciliation processes. In addition, by relying on LUXHUB’s payment initiation services, health service providers will receive an instant confirmation of the payment status and be able to collect funds in their accounts in a few seconds to a few hours depending on the involved banks.

If this service benefits companies and their end-users, the use of such new generation payment methods is also more inclusive, as the only prerequisite to purchasing goods online or paying invoices is to be the holder of a bank account. Moreover, Open Banking, and digital in general, is clearly boosting financial inclusion all over the world, serving underbanked populations and providing them with a cheaper way to pay.

‘This revolution in the world of payment has many benefits, positively impacting all stakeholders, from sellers/service providers to buyers/consumers. Combined with Account Information Services, it enables the seamless integration of banking services directly within most of the applications we all use daily. Payments are therefore becoming an integrated part of the customer journey,’ concludes the Open Banking Product Manager.

About Ramzi Dziri 

Ramzi Dziri is the Open Banking Product Manager at LUXHUB and has more than 10 years of experience in different startups in Berlin and Munich, with a specific focus on digital platforms and electronic payments. During these experiences, the personal silver lining was digitalisation, starting with graphic assets management, to standardising and selling market expertise, and now offering payments and account information. As a product manager, Ramzi works daily on identifying potential pain points for different profiles of organisation from small fintechs to SMEs and big bank groups, with the mission to provide them with the right value propositions.

About LUXHUB

Open Banking Pioneer LUXHUB takes an active part in the transformation of the financial services industry, responding to customers’ needs while providing banks with new revenue streams. It has recently been granted AISP and PISP licenses and aims at helping all companies to take full advantage of Open Banking opportunities.