With the introduction of PSD2 nearing shortly, the EU is taking another major step in streamlining many payment processes which will provide a perfect opportunity for payment service providers and third parties to implement instant and real-time payments alongside a large host of new potential payment solutions.

Software developer Allevo stands to assist the updated ecosystem with a software application for the centralised management of requests from Third Party Providers (TPPs) on behalf of the final customer. The software of Allevo acts as a communication tool between the TPP and the core banking system. It processes the requests  submitted by these TPPs when it receives them in the standardized JSON/XML – ISO20022 format to that of the core banking banking system.

The global pace of payments has accelerated after Switzerland was one of the first countries back in 1987 to introduce the 24-hour payment-processing SIC system way ahead of the curve. As of today, around 30 countries, as of late including the US, have some forms of real-time payments offered within their borders, with the competition between payment providers differing widely between continents. In China, where mobile payments have become one of the most preferred methods, worth USD $1.83 trillion as of 2016, two competitors seem to fight it out for the customers. The competition between Alibaba, with Alipay, and Tencent, with Tenpay, is noted to be even more fierce due to the fact that the Chinese mobile payments market has shown enormous growth in P2P as well as B2C and business transactions, increasing the earnings potential for both tech giants which are involved.

In Belgium, KBC has sought out the public to form partnerships with TPPs for its new mobile platform, launched last year in cooperation with ING. The bank hopes that adding these financial and non-financial services to its platform will appeal to the modern banking customer.

By Lars van den Enk, Research Analyst for Holland Fintech.

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