Online payments for companies: easier with the PIS licence

Open Banking and PSD2 have changed how payments can be carried out and have opened the doors to new ways of exchanging money, accessing bank accounts and paying online. In the midst of the new entities that have arisen from the new regulation are the PISPs and the PIS licences. Let’s dive into what PISPs are and what advantages they bring to companies and consumers.

Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISP), which are "providers" of payment services, allow for SEPA transfers, both standard and instant, from one’s bank account via API.

The PIS licence, which stands for Payment Initiation Service, aims to facilitate online payments for and between businesses, allowing a payment to be made directly from bank accounts without the need to access the internet banking service. Using the payment method enabled by the PIS licence brings several benefits for companies and end customers:

• User Experience
  The user no longer needs to physically access their bank account. The PIS licence enables a direct connection with banks, allowing payments to be made from their accounts at any time.
• Compliance
  When using the PIS licence provided by regulated entities such as Fabrick, these entities will manage the entire payment initiation flow with various contractual and regulatory steps.
• Payment Request
  The PIS licence minimises the possibility of errors because the IBAN, amount, and reason are already pre-set.
• Automatic Reconciliation
  One of the most valuable tools offered by Account to Account (A2A) payments: even today, most companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, manually perform this process. It is an extremely costly process in terms of both time and resources. With the Pay by Bank solution, however, payments are by definition pre-reconciled: all the transfer data is pre-set, allowing for automatic reconciliation procedures.

How to receive business payments online with a PIS licence

With the PIS licence, it is possible to use various methods to receive a business payment online. The most common include:

• Direct Payment for Ecommerce
  Allowing online stores to initiate payments directly from the buyer's bank account. With the PISP licence, transaction costs can be reduced as there are no fees paid to the card networks.
• Advanced Cash Pooling
  Providing business customers with tools to manage their current accounts and cash flow obligations automatically. This way, the customer can set a predetermined balance on the bank account and optimise its management.
• Payments via Link or SMS
  Offering the end customer the possibility to pay through a payment link received via email or SMS. Once redirected to the payment page, the buyer can choose their bank and authorise the payment.
• Wallet Top-up
  Allowing the purchase of goods or services through direct debit from the bank account. It enables payment without the use of cards and without affecting the card limit.

PIS and AIS: What is the difference?

The difference between the PIS and AIS licence is significant. The AIS (Account Information Service) licence allows, with the customer's explicit consent and in compliance with GDPR, access to current account data – such as transaction lists and balance – and payment data. The PIS licence enables the initiation of money transfers from the current account via SEPA transfer, thus providing a solution that avoids the paying customer having to go to the bank or access their internet banking to make a payment.

PIS Licence for online corporates: what is it for?

For some time now, integrated finance services (Embedded Finance) have become a new lever for generating new revenues for businesses, but they are also a tool for building customer loyalty.

Thanks to the integration of services based on the AIS licence, companies can reduce management times and operational expenses while simultaneously expanding the range of services offered to customers, who are constantly seeking a holistic, integrated, and direct customer experience.