Tesco Bank launches Pay by Bank in partnership with Mastercard
Tesco Bank has activated its new Pay by Bank service, allowing credit card customers to make payments directly from their current accounts.
Tesco Bank expects its customers to receive the service in the coming weeks
The new service is powered by Mastercard’s Open Banking Connect solution. Tesco claims to be the first UK bank to enable the process for credit card customers.
The UK bank says the new system is “a straightforward way for customers to pay their credit card balance”. Users don’t have to remember account details or find their card to make a payment.
Pay by Bank allows customers to view their current account balance before paying. The balance also updates “instantly”.
Testing and initial rollouts of the new product started in August. Tesco expects that all its 2.6 million mobile and online banking customers will have access “in the coming weeks”.
“Tesco Bank’s purpose is to help Tesco shoppers manage their money a little better every day,” says Sigga Sigurdardottir, chief customer officer at Tesco Bank.
“The introduction of Pay by Bank helps us do that for 2.6 million of our credit card customers.”
Sigurdardottir says it is “particularly pleasing” for the bank to be the first in the UK to make the technology available to credit card customers.
Open Banking Connect
Mastercard’s Open Banking Connect solution provides third parties with an API connection to financial institutions.
The system “reduces the set-up time and complexity of registering with multiple financial institutions”.
Mastercard says that “secure authentication features” which establish and maintain connection with banks’ systems ensure “high levels of resilience”.
“With this enhancement, Tesco Bank customers will have greater flexibility to make payments against card balances than ever,” says Kelly Devine, division president for Mastercard UK and Ireland.
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