Digital challenger Starling Bank’s partnered with Vocalink-backed Pay by Bank app for mobile payment technology
Digital challenger bank Starling has partnered with Pay by Bank app, Vocalink’s mobile payment technology, to let users more easily make purchases online.
Formerly known as Zapp and created by the UK’s biggest banks before Vocalink was sold to Mastercard, Pay by Bank app’s technology is already being used in services such as Barclays’ Pingit app.
Read more: This challenger bank and proptech startup are joining forces for mortgages
It’s the first time one of the new crop of digital challenger banks has gone with the service, which uses digital “tokens” rather than providing account and card details directly to websites when paying
Starling operating chief Julian Sawyer said using the technology was “important as it not only allows customers to bank and transact on the go, but also to benefit from a greater range of choice and sense of security”.
“Pay by Bank app’s ‘token’ technology means financial data never leaves the customer’s banking app during a transaction, staying safe and secure,” he said.
Vocalink, a consortium of 18 UK banks including Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland, which governs trillions of payments in the UK such as bacs salaries and Faster Payments, was sold to Mastercard last year.
Technology was first announced under the name Zapp in 2014 and was renamed as Pay by Bank app last year. Several of the big banks will support the technology, as will major high street retailers.
Read more: Starling Bank just came a step closer to launch
“The fact that Starling Bank, which is known for its pioneering approach to banking and technology, has committed to Pay by Bank app, reflects growing recognition that the service is fast becoming the ‘standard’ for mobile payments,” said managing director of Pay by Bank app Rajiv Garodia.
Starling Bank has already partnered with fintech startup Transferwise for money transfers, and the fledgling bank, led by former Allied Irish Bank operating chief Anne Boden, launched in beta last month.