After connecting all major High St banks to their mobile app, and becoming the first third-party-provider to do so, Yolt have released a beta test of  Yolt Pay, which allows users to initiate payments from within the app. With the UK implementing their open-banking legislation a little more than a year before The Netherlands (with the open-banking equivalent: PSD2, being implemented on February 19), the Dutch marketplace has the luxury of building on what the UK and Yolt have begun. 

Whilst only in Beta testing, Yolt Pay has been earmarked to be rolled out towards the end of the year after this initial trial period. Alongside account aggregation, users of Yolt now have the opportunity to move funds between their accounts via the app, as well as initiate payments to friends and family. The open-banking enthusiasts at Yolt are quick to highlight the key benefits of this small step towards fully leveraging the enabling legislation.  Moving money between accounts will allow for a more seamless option to avoid overdraft fees, manage budgets or ‘spill’ accounts, and ensure liquidity across accounts to meet associated subscription and bill payments. For those not ‘going Dutch’ at the point of sale it also offers a convenient passage to settling up amongst friends and family.

Although none of the major Dutch banks are currently supported by the app, with Yolt being a venture of ING and the recent implementation on PSD2, one can only assume Dutch users are soon set to reap the rewards of an account aggregation and payments initiation service developed and tested across the channel. Yolt have stated: “The other high street banks will be added as and when they are ready,” meaning as banks prepare their open APIs, spurred on in The Netherlands by PSD2,  Yolt is ready to integrate them.