Yapily partners with Alipay+ to ‘catalyse’ European Open Banking payments

Cross-border digital payment provider Alipay+ and European Open Banking platform Yapily have formed a partnership with a view to developing Open Banking payments solutions in Europe that “enhance” connectivity between consumers and merchants.

Across Asia, 1.4 billion consumer accounts are already connected by Alipay+.

The new partnership is expected to “act as a catalyst” for the deployment of convenient and secure payment options for millions of European consumers.

Pietro Candela, Alipay+’s head of development in Europe, said the region is “on the front line” of Open Banking.

“The region’s unique regulatory framework fosters innovation within its banking ecosystem and gives account-to-account, instant and mobile app payments room to grow through Open Banking solutions,” Candela added.

“As such, we are enthusiastic to begin our collaboration with Yapily, and to develop new payment solutions that bring heightened value and convenience to European consumers and global merchants.”

Yapily’s Open Banking infrastructure will enable consumers who bank with European financial institutions to make cross-border payments to Alipay+ merchants globally, directly from their bank accounts.

Yapily and Alipay+ will jointly develop new solutions designed to help merchants increase transaction value by engaging customers throughout the buying journey, through promotions and other value-added services.

Yapily CEO and founder Stefano Vaccino

Stefano Vaccino, chief executive officer and founder of Yapily, said: “Open Banking presents a significant opportunity to improve the experience for both merchants and consumers when receiving and making cross-border payments.

“In recognising this potential and launching such new payment solutions, Alipay+ will act as a catalyst for mass adoption of Open Banking in Europe.”

He added: “We are delighted to be providing the infrastructure that is enabling Alipay+ to realise the potential of Open Banking and its mission to make it easy to do business anywhere.”

Earlier this year, Yapily published research which showed that businesses are potentially facing a combined £656 million shortfall in missed revenue due to poor online checkout experiences.

Among the 2,000 UK consumers polled, 52% said they had abandoned at least one online purchase in the previous 12 months, citing a poor experience at the online checkout.

This figure rose to 70% among those aged 16 to 24-years-old and 64% of 25 to 34-year-olds.