TrueLayer, the open banking platform, today announced that it has launched its new payment product that they say will allow retailers to process instant refunds more efficiently and cost-effectively in Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Lithuania and the Netherlands.
Traditional payment methods weren’t built to handle the speed of online commerce. With cards taking up to three days to settle, businesses struggle to manage liquidity, while customers have to wait in limbo for refunds and withdrawals. Cards and digital wallets generate substantial costs for retailers through interchange fees, chargeback penalties and time-consuming manual tracking processes.
There is also the issue of rising card fraud in Europe, which totalled €1.55 billion in 2020, with card-not-present fraud accounting for 76% of those cases. France, Germany and Spain all ranked in the top five for card fraud losses.
TrueLayer claim to be addressing these points with a more cost-effective, frictionless and secure payments product built on open banking and the fastest available bank payment rails that delivers:
- Instant refunds and withdrawals: Verified account details are associated with each customer allowing businesses to provide instant refunds back into the same account used for the deposit with a simple API call, as well as instant withdrawals.
- Instant pay-ins: Customers can top up their accounts, buy products and send money in seconds with account-to-account payments. Deposits settle in a dedicated retailer account and are automatically reconciled against customers’ details.
- Dedicated retailer accounts: Businesses can automate reconciliation processes and gain full visibility of their customer’s account details as soon as payment settles. They can also withdraw automatically into their bank account.
Till Wirth, Head of Product at TrueLayer, commented: “With TrueLayer, ecommerce firms can create a better payment experience, through a single implementation offering instant deposits, withdrawals and refunds. Instant deposits enable our customers to achieve higher conversion rates, which improves customer acquisition. YouGov research has found that 63% of shoppers would be comfortable paying by open banking, and 74% of merchants plan to offer instant bank payments, via open banking, as part of their long-term strategy.
The same research revealed 67% of shoppers said the time taken to receive a refund is an important factor affecting their decision of whether or not to shop on that website again. Payments with TrueLayer remove the friction and delays that affect customer loyalty and retention, making it as instant as the initial checkout payment. Customers can see the instant transfer of funds with minimal fuss or having to chase support teams asking where their money is. In contrast, settlement and refunds with cards often takes three days or more.”
