PCI Pal®, the global SaaS provider of secure payment solutions for business communications, has announced the launch of its Pay By Bank open banking solution for contact centres. It is the first in a series of new agent-assisted, digital payment products that enable merchants to minimise the cost of transactions, and provide instant refunds – all while reducing fraud risk and chargeback costs. The first iteration of the service gives consumers the option to pay from any bank in the UK, with further global regions to be launched shortly.

With analysts IDC predicting that almost three-quarters of digital consumer payments globally will be conducted via platforms owned by non-financial institutions by 2030*, PCI Pal’s new Pay by Bank makes highly secure omnichannel, bank-to-bank payments possible across all contact centre channels, including voice (phone), chat, and social. It eliminates card and interchange fees, while fraud risk and chargebacks will be reduced as consumers directly authenticate with their bank, creating further cost savings for merchants while improving the payment experience for consumers.

Pay by Bank from PCI Pal uses bank-grade security from its technology partner TrueLayer and is seamlessly integrated to PCI Pal’s existing agent-assisted contact centre solutions. Agents benefit from being able to follow the customer payment journey in real-time, without being exposed to sensitive data yet aiding where needed, to maintain a great customer and agent experience. As a result, PCI Pal’s integrated partners will have immediate and straightforward access to these new capabilities, allowing them to benefit from an improved value proposition to their own customers.

A key differentiator compared to other solutions available today is its technology integration with Truelayer, enabling payments from any bank rather than a minimal amount of named institutions via a third-party application. Pay by Bank from PCI Pal allows merchants to achieve the true benefits of open banking technology within their contact centre.

Mufti Monim, Chief Technology Officer for PCI Pal said: “This Pay by Bank capability, powered by open banking technology, is the first of a new series of product innovations from PCI Pal which will provide enhanced digital payment journeys for merchants. This innovation makes payments – and instant refunds – quicker, easier, and highly secure. The omnichannel experience means customers simply choose how they wish to pay by clicking a link shared by the merchant via live chat, push notification, SMS, or email. They don't have to key in their card details or trust a website to store them; they instead select their bank from the list and securely approve the purchase with a fingerprint or face ID or other authentication method provided by their bank.

“For merchants, this Pay by Bank capability can increase revenue by improving conversion rates and provide cost savings, as payment service provider fees are replaced by less costly transaction fees.  Additionally, payments are typically credited instantly via Faster Payments.

“PCI Pal has solved the PCI DSS compliance problem: now we’re investing in and further developing our products to create new revenue generation and cost-benefitting solutions for contact centres as businesses strive to commercialise further customer interactions and enhance their payment experience. ”