As the cost of living crisis increasingly bites many businesses are struggling to collect payments from their customers. Subscription numbers are declining and consumers are cancelling direct debits in favour of alternative payment methods that give them more control. However, these alternatives such as cash, cards and cheques can cost more and introduce friction with... Continue Reading →
This blog first appeared as a blog on Answer Pay’s website: Instagram payments, a Meta-phor for missed banking opportunities? Instagram launches payment service In case you missed it, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announced a new “payments in chat” feature for Instagram. According to Techcrunch this means: ..users can purchase products from small businesses and track orders via direct messages... Continue Reading →
This blog originally appeared on Answer Pay’s website: Where does Request to Pay go from here? and was written by Ian Tomlin. Request to Pay (RtP) is the new messaging interoperability protocol being adopted across the UK to simplify bill payments. It’s been around for a couple of years now but—as this month the UK financial service industry... Continue Reading →
Officially a tech climber I’m so pleased to share that Answer Pay (the UK’s first accredited Request to Pay provider) has made it onto the inaugural Tech Climbers Leeds City Region 2022 list! Tech Climbers is a regional list published with BusinessCloudthat showcases the top performing, IP rich, product led technology businesses. Quickly becoming known as a thriving tech destination, Leeds City Region is... Continue Reading →
Answer Pay has announced that it has successfully received funding to extend its Request to Pay connectivity to European countries in the Single Euro Payments Area(SEPA). Digital payment technologies are evolving. Arguably, the biggest step-change in payments innovation in the UK and Europe comes in the form of Request-to-Pay (RtP). This is a relatively new message overlay service first... Continue Reading →
The European Payments Council (EPC) have shared a new video about the SEPA Request-to-Pay (SRTP) scheme. The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Request-to-Pay (SRTP) scheme managed by the European Payments Council (EPC) covers a set of operating rules and technical elements (including messages) that allow a Payee to request digitally the initiation of a payment... Continue Reading →
As the Chair of Answer Pay, I am super pleased to announce that OneBanks Hub, the shared branch banking innovator, is teaming up with Answer Pay to offer its Request to Pay bill payment services across the OneBanks network. Request to Pay allows customers to settle utility and other bills easily. It has been devised... Continue Reading →
Help me out here ... how can 'pay by link' even be a thing? Back in issue 207 of Payments:Unpacked we asked how can 'pay by link' even be a thing? Pay by link is growing in use within the financial services industry, as banks and other financial services companies adopt the mechanism in their apps to service growing... Continue Reading →
In this first episode of the new Payments:Unpacked podcast series (Series 1, Episode 1) we shine a light on the UK's new bill payments overlay service - Request to Pay. We are joined by Peter Cornforth, Commercial Director from Answer Pay - the UK's first accredited Request to Pay provider. Peter describes what Request to Pay is, considers the benefits to both the biller and... Continue Reading →
European Payments Council SEPA RtP Second Version - a guest blog from Peter Cornforth, Commercial Director at Answer Pay. An early Christmas present to European payments industry nerds (myself included) landed on Tuesday 30th Nov, with the second iteration of the European Payments Council (EPC) rulebook. Using ISO20022 standards for Request to Pay (RtP) messages as a... Continue Reading →
Fintech company Answer Pay and The Money Carer Foundation have teamed up to launch Request to Pay functionality to help support for older and vulnerable people across the UK. Answer Pay connects payment services providers to Request to Pay services through a simple integration. Answer Pay is the first certified provider of Request to Pay... Continue Reading →
Interested in Request to Pay but want to find out a little bit more? Four articles that help unpack Request to Pay. Pay by Link or Request to Pay? Peter Cornforth, Answer Pay’s Commercial Director asks, if Pay By Link is so straight forward then why has it seen more success? He suggests that the... Continue Reading →
Direct Debits were created in 1964 to make collecting payments from ice cream vendors easier. Given the state of technology and UK roads (there was only one motorway!), considerable time was required to shuttle paper between processing centres, hence the 3-day processing cycle, which over 50 years later still persists. A guest blog by Lee McNabb,... Continue Reading →
Before exiting the house, most of us today reach of our wallet, keys, and mobile phone. Strange to think there was life without mobile phones in the 1980’s. Stranger still, that Britain’s first mobile phone call was allegedly made across the Vodafone network on 1 January 1985 by veteran comedian Ernie Wise. A guest blog by... Continue Reading →
In an era of individualism and empowerment, how is the payments industry responding to the needs of vulnerable households? This article explores how Request to Pay balances biller priorities with consumer and small business needs. The Choice Factor In the United Kingdom today, one in six working households—or 17.4 percent— are living in poverty, 1.5 million consumers are in water poverty, over 20 million... Continue Reading →
It would be really interesting to do a compare and contrast of RTP Vs open banking powered services that will do similar soon with VRP... From a customer and a biller perspective. This was an observation made in response by Chris Higham to a recent LinkedIn post by Mike Chambers at Answer Pay. The original post is at: https://lnkd.in/dECzVCM4 So... Continue Reading →
Software is eating the world Arguably, the biggest change to our daily lives in our lifetime has been the proliferation of mobile telephony and the always-on socio-digital culture. Mobile phones have become key to identifying ‘us’ in a world of digital. Their multi-colour covers define us. Their notifications punctuate our lives. And, unsurprisingly, we want... Continue Reading →
Request to Pay 'Lead or Lag?' - When is the right time to begin your Request to Pay journey? Timed to coincide with the recent release of the Single Euro Payments Area Request-to-Pay (SEPA Request-To-Pay), AnswerPay recently held a virtual expert panel discussion which tackled the big questions that surround Request to Pay adoption including: when financial services companies should look... Continue Reading →
A thought provoking guest blog “Why Request to Pay, Europe’s answer to PayPal, Apple and Google, will change payment processes” by Stefan Walde of AirPlus has just been published in The Company Dime. Stefan’s article starts with this introduction: Stefan goes on to consider: RtP being competition for the classic credit card. RtP friend or foe? RtP no... Continue Reading →
A round-up of how Request to Pay is rolling out around the world The world is waking up to Request to Pay (R2P) as the answer to convenient and affordable digital bill payments. Request to Pay has arrived and is expanding globally. We are pleased to feature a guest blog by Peter Cornforth. In this article Peter... Continue Reading →
We are often asked about the parallel developments of the UK and European flavours of Request to Pay and how they might work together. Following the launch of the European version on June 15th, we thought it an ideal time to signpost the bigger differences. Where Request to Pay (and SEPA R2P) have come from The... Continue Reading →
Is your organisation ready for Request to Pay? Time-lined to coincide with the planned June launch of the Single Euro Payments Area Request to Pay (SEPA Request to Pay), this virtual expert panel discussion tackles the big questions that surround Request to Pay adoption including, when financial services companies should look to adopt it, what... Continue Reading →
Online fraud has blossomed, and it’s easy to become a victim In recent months we’ve seen a dramatic increase in fraudsters exploiting our increased volume of online shopping to con innocent victims into sending vast sums of money and personal details. The latest research published by UK Finance suggests that UK Finance members reported 149,946 incidents of Authorised Push... Continue Reading →
Is your organisation ready for Request to Pay? Join Answer Pay, Accenture and FIS for our virtual expert panel discussion “Request to Pay, Lead or Lag?” on June 22 at 2pm. Time-lined to coincide with the planned June launch of the Single Euro Payments Area Request to Pay (SEPA Request to Pay), this virtual expert panel discussion tackles the big questions... Continue Reading →
In this guest blog, Gary Parlett, CEO of Answer Pay shares 5 important facts that make Request to Pay one of the most interesting innovations in the payments space happening in 2021. As a biller, Bank or PSP, have you heard of Request to Pay yet? When I first learnt of the proposition it was... Continue Reading →
Get ready for the Request to Pay revolution https://youtu.be/8QTMKsBNiMQ
An era when every business is a tech company, and every human has a smart phone. Have you noticed how practically every television ad these days includes an image of a person using a smart device or an app? We live in an era where individuals want-what-they-want-when-they-want-it. And bill payments haven’t escaped this game changing... Continue Reading →
Answer Pay has announced the go-live of its Request to Pay demonstrator - the new demonstrator enables billers, payers and payment services providers to experience the full Request to Pay journey for the first time, providing a greater understanding of the huge benefits of bill payments utilising Request to Pay. Request to Pay addresses the... Continue Reading →
Research by American Express reveals that one third of UK consumers (33%) feel confident trying new online payment methods. Additionally, one in five (20%) report that the pandemic has made them more open to trying new forms of payment online, with the same number (20%) stating that it has also changed the way that they think about how they pay for... Continue Reading →
Accenture (Amit Mallick and Sudipta Kundu) recently posted a blog about the important role Request to Pay (RtP) will play in the future of payments. Accenture argue that RtP will bring flexibility to payers, cost reduction and efficiency to billers, and a huge value opportunity to financial services providers that have an Open Banking infrastructure in... Continue Reading →
This week we built a slide featuring our favourite Request to Pay words Digital | Empower | Priority | Friction Free | Flexible | Control | Ease of Use Source: Answer Pay Read, subscribe and share Request to Pay: Unpacked is published by Mike Chambers and unpacks the UK’s new service that provides the ability to request payment for... Continue Reading →
Have you read the excellent blog piece by James Stanley at Anglian Water highlighting the customer benefits of Request to Pay? Or maybe you’ve heard Sian Williams from Toynbee Hall discuss why Request to Pay is a step change in consumer empowerment? Source: Pay.UK featured guest blog by Peter Cornforth, Answer Pay Telegram to internet... Continue Reading →
With so many payment options in the market, what makes Request to Pay different and why should banks and PSPs be interested in it? The webinar recording from last weeks Request to Pay event organised by Consult Hyperion has just been posted - this webinar delves into this question and was led by CHYP’s Principal Consultant, Tim... Continue Reading →
Request to Pay is now available in the UK and is coming soon in Europe. Join Dave Birch and colleagues from Consult Hyperion for their weekly webinar to discuss transaction technologies and the issues our industry is facing - this week's webinar featured Request to Pay. With so many payment options in the market, what makes Request to Pay different... Continue Reading →
John Broxis, Managing Director at Open Banking Europe has written a useful blog called “Scheming about Open Banking Schemes”. John’s article covers a wide range of topics including: What do we mean by a scheme, SEPA API Access, European Payments Initiative, PSD2 and Open Banking / Finance however, John’s views regarding SEPA Request to Pay... Continue Reading →
In edition 13 of Request to Pay: Unpacked Peter Cornforth (Commercial Director at Answer Pay) takes a look at “Pay By Link Or Request To Pay?” Peter’s article centres on a popular quote by Brett King is “Why banking is no longer somewhere you go, but something you do“ and suggests that it could be equally applied to Request... Continue Reading →
M-Pesa success factors and what it can mean for the UK's Request To Pay In this guest blog Peter Cornforth (Commercial Director at Answer Pay) takes a look at how the success of M-Pesa might act as a reference point for the UK’s Request to Pay eco-system. Peter writes: In this article I wanted to look at the success... Continue Reading →
Fintech company Answer Pay has made two strategic board appointments to support its growth plans. Mike Chambers joins the company as chairman and Finbarr Joy as a non-executive director. Mike is a highly experienced board director with a wealth of experience in the payments industry. He was previously chief executive of Bacs and is also... Continue Reading →
Hear the Euro Banking Association’s explanation of how you can create value with Request to Pay: You’ll find more about Request to Pay at: RequestToPay.help.
Request to Pay is a new, flexible way for bills to be settled between people, organisations and businesses. What is Request to Pay (RtP)? RtP is a messaging service that has been created to complement existing payments infrastructure and gives billers the ability to request payment for a bill rather than simply sending an invoice.... Continue Reading →
As we settle into Lockdown 2.0 with people barely recovered from Lockdown 1.0, it’s likely that more people will need to stay at home with suspected Coronavirus symptoms, whilst waiting for test results or having been notified by the government’s test and trace system. All this is only sustainable if people can keep up with... Continue Reading →
Ten things you should know about the new Request to Pay service What is Request to Pay? Pay.UK describe the new Request to Pay (RtP) service as: ….a secure messaging service framework launched on 29th May 2020. It is an overlay on top of existing payments infrastructure as a new flexible way to manage and... Continue Reading →
UK Payments fintech Ordo announce strategic distribution partnership with e-money platform, Contis Ordo is making getting paid easy - helping businesses securely and simply collect bank payments from their customers. No hidden fees. No hassle. No worries. https://youtu.be/WWIQnrDvXD4 Open Banking is a game changer for businesses, not so much the technology, but what that technology... Continue Reading →
Paul van Der Valk and Mark Munne have produced an at a glance SEPA Request to Pay infographic - featuring the RTP process, features and benefits. The infographic is based on the draft rulebook and a final version will be published by the EPC in November. Check out Paul’s Linked In post: The new SEPA Request... Continue Reading →
Catherine Ferguson, Client Director at Manifesto Growth recently has written an interesting piece on the commercial opportunity for Request to Pay. Catherine explores two fundamental questions: Developing the front-end proposition: What’s the opportunity?Becoming a repository: What’s the opportunity? The article concludes: The key for entities grappling with Request to Pay is understanding where the specific... Continue Reading →
Request to Pay, a new payment messaging service soon to be offered in the UK, could address payment friction. Instead of a paper bill, you’d be able to receive a payment request through an app on your phone, with the bill attached. You could decide to pay some or all of it there and then,... Continue Reading →
Request to Pay is a new, flexible way for bills to be settled between people, organisations and businesses. The service is being developed by Pay.UK - link: Pay.UK Request to Pay. Request to Pay is a messaging service that has been created to complement existing payments infrastructure and gives billers the ability to request payment for... Continue Reading →
Pay.UK have launched the Request to Pay Framework – the message standards, rules, and terms and conditions for the development of Request to Pay services. The new Framework can now be used by organisations to create the first Request to Pay propositions, set to underpin a vibrant new market of payment messaging services. Source: Pay.UK... Continue Reading →
