Open Banking payments are going from strength to strength in the UK and Europe as use cases continue to expand, with Open Banking platform Token.io at the heart of developments.

In the UK, the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) recorded a 210% growth in Open Banking payments between April 2021 and April 2022, with Token driving over 20% of this traffic. By the end of 2021, the cumulative total for Open Banking payments volume stood at 26.6 million - an increase of more than 500% in 12 months.

Whilst the UK is an Open Banking pioneer, Europe is now keeping pace. Juniper has predicted that Open Banking payments will exceed $116 billion by 2026 - a 2800% increase in five years - with Europe set to account for 75% of this total as Open Banking payments become a key driver of e-commerce growth.

Against this backdrop, Token has emerged as the clear market leader, enabling the growth of faster, fairer, frictionless Open Banking-enabled account-to-account (A2A) payments across the UK and Europe.

Following its latest $40 million funding round, Token is further expanding its connectivity network while recruiting additional talent to accelerate the development of its capabilities. In April 2022, the company boosted its executive team with the addition of Chief Product Officer (CPO) Charles Damen (ex-Worldpay, Thunes, Bumble/Badoo) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Artashes Torosyan (ex-Optio Pay).

Todd Clyde, CEO, Token, said: “We’re seeing a huge, and growing, appetite for A2A payments across the UK and Europe, with the market recognising they represent the future - fast, fair and frictionless.”

“As A2A payments increase, the use of traditional payment methods, such as cards, is set to decline. FIS WorldPay’s 2022 Global Payments Report, for example, predicts that by 2025 cards will account for less than a third of global e-commerce transaction value.”

“Our laser-sharp focus on payments has enabled us to develop deep functionality that makes accepting direct A2A payments elegant and simple. We’ve adopted an approach that empowers other players in the payment value chain to bring A2A payments, and the benefits associated with them, to their customers. We’re now processing tens of millions of open payments annually for the UK and Europe’s payment service providers (PSPs), gateways, banks and large merchants.”

With Token’s complete Open Banking toolkit, businesses can create new capabilities and revenue streams, blending API-based payments and data to reinvent financial experiences faster and more efficiently.

Token is powering A2A payments across the entire payments ecosystem and helping to increase use cases day-by-day. The company is working with Mastercard, HSBC and a host of leading PSPs, such as Trust Payments, Nuvei, Everpay, eCommpay, Straal and Contis. Token is also providing connectivity to Open Banking platforms Volt and TransfrPro. In addition, Token has partnered with ShoppingOS, which has developed an elegant no-code Open Banking payments WooCommerce plug-in for merchants, and Prommt, which delivers slick, branded payment requests across all popular messaging channels and payment gateways.

One particularly prominent use case is A2A payments as a means of loading wallets or digital accounts. Token enables A2A payments for a number of providers, including:

• Sonae Universo, partnered with Token to enable account top-ups via Open Banking payments for Universo’s flagship credit card product. 
• Rewire, provides cross-border banking solutions and ensures migrants’ financial services accessibility.
• Coingate, a Bitcoin and crypto payment processor.

Token’s technology is also underpinning the emergence of A2A payments in physical stores across the UK and Europe.

In the UK, Token customer Sway is turning mobile phones into payment terminals to bring A2A payments to retail stores. Merchants simply download the Sway app, connect their bank, and generate a unique transaction QR code. Customers then scan the code and authenticate the payment in their mobile banking app for a fast, frictionless and secure in-store payment experience. In Europe, BNP Paribas’ Instanea solution, with Open Banking connectivity provided by Token, is also delivering A2A payments as an alternative to card payments in stores at Castorama locations across France.

Founded in 2016, Token is driving the shift from traditional payment methods to faster, lower cost and more secure A2A payments. It currently processes tens of millions of live transactions in 16 European countries. By providing API connectivity to banks across Europe, Token delivers rich Open Banking payments functionality to payment service providers, gateways, acquirers, banks and large merchants.