Sberbank in Slovenia teams with Token for open banking push
By partnering with Token, the open banking platform provider based in San Francisco, Sberbank in Slovenia is signalling more than just its compliance with PSD2. Instead Slovenia’s seventh largest bank seeks to move beyond PSD2 compliance and toward a full embrace of open banking, reports David Penn at Finovate.
Aleš Zajc, deputy CEO in charge of retail banking for Sberbank in Slovenia, says: “With Token’s frictionless authentication programmed into each transaction, we will be able to increase payment speed and convenience without ever compromising on security.”
Token enables banks to issue and redeem payment and account data authorisations as programmable smart tokens.
Smart tokens are unique to the transactions they represent, and because account information is never transmitted beyond the bank, the technology helps minimise security risks.
Not only does this make Token’s technology an ideal deployment for banks looking to meet PSD2 requirements, smart tokens can also serve as the basis for faster, more secure online transactions for customers.
Token CEO and founder Steve Kirsch adds that its cloud-based platform will give Sberbank “both flexibility and scalability when creating and handling transactions”.
Token’s news comes one month after the company announced that it would facilitate direct payments for cross-border payments platform Caxton.
Also last month, the company completed the first payment initiation service provider (PISP) to complete an end-to-end payment via a public bank API.
In May, Token was granted authorisation by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for open banking payment and information services, and partnered with Paymentworld Europe to enable direct payments for the Malta-based electronic money institution.
With $18.5 million in funding, Token includes EQT Ventures, OP Financial Group, Octopus Ventures, and Plug and Play among its investors.
