An article relating to this blog post on Finextra:
EBA Clearing makes online shopping play with pan-European e-payments initiative
EBA Clearing has outlined plans to launch a pan-European electronic payments service for online shopping, enabling buyers and sellers to complete transactions through their e-banking portals.
See article
The session where EBA Clearing explained the launch of 'mybank' its new online payments facility, targeted for go live in 2012, was interesting.
The concept being that when you click 'pay' it takes you to your online banking portal allowing you to login in the usual way. So no need to remember additional usernames and passwords or give your account or card details to a website you may not trust or
are doubtful is secure. You simply use your usual online banking facility. This sounds like a create 1st step but I do have a few issues with this:
1. If you don't have an online banking account, you can't use it - Not all online consumers have an online banking facility, but still shop online.
2. Only going to be available to merchants in the EU. What about suppliers outside the EU?
Paypal or various credit cards are acceptable around the globe.
This offering is aimed at online merchants and I applaude the initiative and goes to what the chairman of EBA was saying his opening speech about the need for innovation and banks to take a risk on something new, but does it really give merchants benefits
over and above existing solutions? Will enough merchants take it up to make it a viable proposition for EBA?