Phos, the global leader in software point of sale (SoftPoS) orchestration for businesses, has announced the addition of Open Banking as a payment option to its software-only payment acceptance solution.

The new functionality is the result of a partnership with Nuapay - an EML payments business - and will enable phos partners to provide instant bank transfers within its SoftPoS application for merchant customers.

With over 6 million active users of Open Banking – merchants can now benefit from faster settlements via the phos solution, with Open Banking providing a low-cost payment option particularly for businesses at high values.

This is the first of many alternatives to card payments that will be available through the SoftPoS platform. In addition to Open Banking, phos is actively working on PayPal and Venmo acceptance for the near future - ensuring that merchants can offer customers a checkout experience that includes their preferred way to pay.

Customers will also be able to use phos’ technology to accept card and digital wallet payments directly on any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet, in a secure and contactless way.

Brad Hyett, CEO of phos, said: “Open Banking has brought about a range of new payment possibilities and there are already millions of end users taking advantage of this technology. Direct bank transfers are proving popular as a mainstream payment method thanks to the enhanced security they provide - consumers don’t have to manually type their card details into third-party sites - and their ability to expedite the checkout process for shoppers.

“Through our partnership with Nuapay, we set out to help merchants capitalise on the Open Banking opportunity too - from higher conversion rates to cheaper and faster settlement. Using an orchestration platform that offers Open Banking functionality means more ways to pay for customers, which in turn helps drive sales and better customer engagement.”

Brian Hanrahan, CEO of EML’s Nuapay, added: “Open Banking continues to gain momentum as a preferred payment method and we’re very happy to partner with phos to support its continued growth. The collaboration will help merchants obtain the benefits of Open Banking through technology that they already use, leveraging phos’ orchestration platform to offer customers more ways to pay - all without the need for costly additional hardware.”

Phos currently has 14 certified acquirer connections, as the fintech continues to expand globally. It plans to increase this number exponentially to satisfy the needs of tier-one providers and requirements across international markets. Additional acquiring certifications are currently in progress and will be announced in the new year.

Its latest partnership with Nuapay comes amid growing market interest in SoftPoS and Tap to Pay technology, with consumer tech giant Apple announcing it would enable third-party SoftPoS providers to deploy their technology on iOS devices earlier this year.