French FinTech Bankin’ Enables Payments Via Bank Transfers

A French banking startup called Bankin’ has introduced Bridge Pay, an application programming interface (API) that will let people make payments using bank transfers, according to a report by TechCrunch.

Right now, the Bridge Pay API works with 12 major banks in France, which is about 90 percent of all the retail banks in the country.

The startup is a B2B as well as a B2C company, and it works by allowing a person to put all bank accounts into one app. There are currently about 4 million customers using the app, and Bankin’ also handles an API called Bridge. Developers who use the API can link with bank accounts to get transaction and other banking information.

The idea behind Bridge Pay is to expand on that and make it a payment API too. Customers have transferred about €1 billion so far using Bridge Pay, and are using it to transfer money from one account to another.

Now, third-party companies can do the transfers themselves, and the process could help with very expensive items that might otherwise reach a card limit for transactions.

There’s also the possibility of the automation of B2B transactions, without having to actually interact with a bank account. One example would be allowing payroll services to handle the transfer of employee pay directly with a company’s bank account.

The Bridge Pay service can be directly integrated into an app or service, and when bank transfer payments are selected, a list of banks is shown. Bankin’ said it can easily add more banks in the future to the service.

In October, Bankin’ added premium services to its roster, called Bankin’ Plus and Bankin’ Pro. Earlier in 2019, the company raised 20 million euros to help fund development.

“With this fundraiser, we will continue to help you make the right decisions for your money every day,” the company said at the time. “We will continue to revolutionize money management to make it simple , accessible and enjoyable.”