Revolut picks Tink for payments initiation services API

UK fintech group, Revolut, has partnered with Swedish open banking platform, Tink, to use the latter’s payments initiation service (PIS) technology across its Europe business.

The alliance enables Revolut’s users to connect their bank accounts to authorize and transfer money directly into their Revolut account without leaving the app.

Tink’s technology will be made available to Revolut via an API. As part of the integration process, Tink will also provide the payments giant with a customizable SDK to orchestrate a smooth customer journey.

“Our partnership with Tink will enable Revolut to expand our open banking services across new markets in a fast and sustainable way,” said Ivan Chalov, Head of Retail at Revolut.

The partnership was first announced on Tuesday, with the integration process still ongoing.

According to Tom Pope, head of payments and platforms at Tink, the first phase of the integration work between Tink and Revolut is underway — beginning with Western Europe before covering the rest of the region.

“Where open banking is really taking off right now is in places where there are inferior user experiences, which we can turbo charge,” Pope told bobsguide.

“Topping up an account manually is often an inferior experience. Using Tink’s open banking products instead to top up an account, makes that user experience compelling. It is quick, easy, and intuitive. It can almost make the experience part of the competitive advantage for the business.”

According to Pope, the company picked Tink largely because of its coverage across Europe.

“Being able to have quick and easy account top ups in the Revolut app will enable a better user experience, he added.

“We believe Tink’s success rates and coverage are the best in the industry, ensuring this experience is available to as many of Revolut’s customers as possible. We expect there will be a strong positive customer impact from this partnership.”

Revolut looks for geographic and service depth

The partnership adds depth to Revolut’s payments offering in Europe, aligning its goal to expand its services across existing and new markets.

In January, the company operationalised its Lithuania-based European specialised banking licence in 10 European markets, expanding its European footprint into 28 EU countries, before launching in Ireland two months later.

Beyond Europe, the neo bank has also been expanding into the rest of the world.

Revolut is currently preparing for an official entry into Brazil. In March, it hired former BTG Pactual partner, Glauber Mota, as the CEO of its Brazilian operations.

Read more: Banking tech market updates: Oracle, Revolut and more (bobsguide.com)

Visa backs Tink’s payments tech

Tink’s recent collaboration with Revolut adds to the fintech’s growing list of alliances as customers look for reduced pain points in their payments journey.

Tink’s own research into online payments, found that 88% of its respondents were willing to abandon a purchase if faced with friction when paying.

The partnership also marks a win for the Stockholm-based fintech, which only in April announced the availability of its PIS product in five new European markets, including the Netherlands, Norway, Estonia, Finland and Latvia.

Prior to the PIS launch, the company was acquired by Visa, giving the scale-up additional resources to develop its services.

Following the acquisition, Tink has continued to operate as an independent entity.

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