EchoPay teams up with Token.io to enable wholesale merchants to accept A2A payments

Wholesale merchants in the UK are set to benefit from reduced payment costs and bank charges through a new partnership between Token.io and EchoPay.

Using Token.io’s connectivity for account-to-account (A2A) payments, EchoPay will enable businesses to accept A2A payments at point of sale (POS), bypassing intermediaries and, therefore, resulting in a significant reduction in costs.

According to recent analysis by EchoPay, the average wholesale transaction amounts to £1,800, incurring average bank charges of £18.

EchoPay said that, since interchange for most commercial cards is not capped in the UK, wholesale merchants also face higher card fees than consumer-oriented merchants.

EchoPay’s James Ward

“Our ambition is to help independent wholesalers across the country improve their profitability by reducing their banking charges,” James Ward, chief executive officer and founder of EchoPay, said.

“Our new partnership with industry leaders Token.io is an important step in enabling even more businesses to discover the benefits of Open Banking-enabled payments.”

EchoPay’s A2A payment solution can be installed on POS terminals as a custom tender, so that merchants can generate QR codes for customers to initiate a frictionless A2A payment directly from their phones.

“Open Banking payments present an opportunity for merchants to offer their customers a fast and convenient alternative to traditional card payments,” Ward added.

“Transactions using EchoPay cost the wholesaler a flat rate. This is particularly valuable for wholesale merchants operating in a B2B environment with high average transaction values.”

EchoPay is already helping the more than 150 members of Unitas Wholesale, the UK’s largest independent wholesale buying group, reduce payment charges.

Through the strategic partnership, members have made up to £5 million of savings in banking charges this year.

EchoPay also enables Unitas merchants to accept A2A payments through a branded app or credit management dashboard.

Todd Clyde, chief executive officer of Token.io, said: “The launch of EchoPay is a big step forward in making Pay by Bank available at the point of sale and expanding the benefits of A2A payments to more merchants.

“In addition to cost savings, Pay by Bank enables better cash flow as payments are settled instantly, and can also be allocated seamlessly for faster, easier reconciliation than invoicing and accepting bank transfers.”

Todd Clyde is speaking at Open Banking Expo UK & Europe on 18-19 October in London – find out more about the agenda and speaker line-up here.