Optimal Payments, Realex and SagePay will work with Zapp's digital and mobile first approach to payments, enabling merchants to benefit from higher conversion, lower cost and more secure checkouts.

Innovation in payments
Zapp delivers significant benefit to retailers because of a smoother, faster, more secure check out process. Zapp allows people to make real-time payments from their mobile, unlocking money in their current account in a much simpler, more controlled and more secure way. Getting more customers through the checkout process securely is crucial to retail success - Zapp and the Zapp network of payment providers understand this and will work to launch the next generation of digital payment systems.

SagePay, Realex and Optimal Payments are some of the biggest and most innovative payment providers in the UK market. Over many years these businesses have proven their ability to bring innovations that are secure and successful to market for both merchants and consumers.

Payments industry working together for the good of the consumer
The announcement follows the release of research by Zapp showing that greater cooperation between financial institutions, merchant acquirers and retailers is required if consumers are to adopt mobile payments en masse. The research showed 70% of consumers said complex up-front set-up processes were a barrier to mobile payment adoption; 70% cited the difficulties paying people who are not part of the same mobile payment scheme; and 80% said that not enough banks and retailers were able to accept payments. Today's announcement is a step towards addressing these concerns through the creation of a universal mobile payment ecosystem: Zapp.

Zapp will have 60% coverage of merchants in 2014 at launch
This announcement together with our previous announcement of a strategic partnership with WorldPay means that Zapp will have over 60% coverage of merchants in the UK in 2014. This will mean that thousands of retailers, both large and small, and millions of consumers can benefit from Zapp's simple and secure mobile enabled check out process.

These agreements commit Zapp and these leading payment service providers to work together to roll-out Zapp to retailers in 2014. The rollout will include integration of the Zapp payment eco-system into the core payment methods offered by Realex, Optimal Payments and SagePay and joint marketing of the Zapp payment system to thousands of merchants.

Peter Keenan, Chief Executive of Zapp, commented, "I am delighted to announce these new members of the Zapp network. Zapp's success will be based on providing consumers with easy, secure and convenient ways to pay for a wide range of goods and services through thousands of retailers. We look forward to working closely together with Optimal Payments, SagePay and Realex as innovators in the market to make secure and simple Zapp payments a reality for millions of consumer checkouts in 2014."