Open Banking Payments Platform Token Launches in Italy

London, 8 February 2023 — Open banking payment platform, Token, today announces it has added Italy to the growing number of countries in which it offers Account Information Services (AIS) and Payment Initiation Services (PIS).

Token’s customers can now initiate open banking enabled account-to-account (A2A) payments and access aggregated bank account and transaction data for 84% of bank accounts in Italy. Connected banks include Bancoposta, Intesa Saopaolo, UniCredit, Banco BPM, Iccrea Group, BPER Banca, Monte Paschi, BNP Paribas, Banco Mediolanum, BNL and Credit Agricole, among others.

With a population of more than 59 million, recent research indicates digital payment usage is on the rise in Italy.

“With Token’s technology, payment providers can tap into the thriving open banking payments market, which is predicted to surpass $334 billion globally by 2027.” commented Token's Chief Executive Officer, Todd Clyde. “We are making open banking payments a truly Pan-European mainstream payment method, and are excited that businesses can now deliver all the benefits of lower cost, instant, secure open banking payments to the Italian market,” he added.

Open banking payments, often called Pay by Bank, are a fast and secure movement of money between bank accounts. Open banking payments do not require registration, or tedious, error-prone data entry, making them faster and easier than cards and 3D secure. End-users authenticate the payment directly with their bank for a more frictionless experience that can also deliver higher success rates than cards.

Open banking payments offer merchants cost savings of 2-20x compared to traditional payment methods, and settle instantly to improve cashflow. Merchants can also allocate incoming funds seamlessly for faster, easier reconciliation than invoicing and accepting bank transfers.

Token leads the market with open banking connectivity based on direct bank integrations that are 100% API-based for both PIS and AIS. Token’s connectivity reaches over 80% of bank accounts in each of its 15 markets: Italy, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Spain, and Portugal.

In addition to expanding its connectivity network, Token continues to expand its product portfolio. Token’s upcoming developments are set to broaden the use cases for open banking payments in Europe, which will see 81% of global open banking payment volumes and $288 billion in transaction values by 2027, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

Recently named one of the top ten fastest growing fintechs in Europe by Sifted, Token’s transaction volumes grew 250% in Europe last year, with the launch in Italy expected to drive further growth.