Mastercard and Virgin Money Team to Expand UK Open Banking

British bank Virgin Money has launched an open banking-focused partnership with Mastercard.

The collaboration will let Virgin Money customers view all their credit card and current account balances and transactions from any provider on the company’s credit card app, Virgin Money said in a news release provided to PYMNTS Monday (March 17).

The solution, powered by Mastercard’s open banking technology, lets Virgin Money’s 6.6 million U.K. customers manage their accounts in a single and convenient place, the release added.

“Open banking is an exciting opportunity to make it easier for people to manage their finances, and we’re delighted to work with Mastercard to introduce and evolve this feature for over two million credit card customers who interact with us digitally every month,” said Katherine Lovell, head of unsecured lending at Virgin Money.

Virgin Money, one of England’s largest retail banks, was acquired last year by the country’s Nationwide Building Society in a $2.7 billion deal.

In other open banking news, PYMNTS wrote last week about the rise of pay by bank as a payment method in consumer-facing sectors. It’s a method that — while in its early stages — is already helping merchants reduce cart abandonment, bolster their data security and lower transaction costs.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Cost Concerns Hinder Merchants’ Pay-by-Bank Adoption — but Current Payments Could Cost More” found that in spite of worries about cost and complexity, pay by bank could be more cost-effective than traditional payment methods such as credit and debit cards.

“Consumer-facing companies that have adopted pay by bank are seeing advantages, according to the report,” PYMNTS wrote. “All the companies surveyed reported lower cart abandonment rates, highlighting their effectiveness in keeping customers engaged. Additionally, 80% of businesses using pay by bank said enhanced data security for their customers was a benefit.”

Ease of use for customers — something noted by 80% of respondents — was another critical factor in boosting pay by bank’s popularity. These benefits are particularly key in sectors like retail, grocery, betting, ridesharing, telecommunications and utilities, where user experience and security are high priorities.

“Despite the benefits, cost concerns remain a barrier to the wider adoption of pay by bank,” PYMNTS added. “According to the report, 78% of companies that have yet to implement pay by bank expressed worries about the potential costs involved. This concern is valid, given the upfront expenses required for system integration and customer education. However, many businesses may not fully realize that the cost of continuing with traditional card-based payment methods can be substantial.”

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