Austria will then become the next country besides The Netherlands, Italy, Hungary and the islands Aruba and Curacao, to rely in whole or in part on Worldline’s clearing and settlement platform. Through this cooperation, PSA and Worldline are laying the groundwork for a new real-time payment platform for instant, secure and device-independent payments across Austria.

PSA has recently been entrusted with managing the Austrian clearing operations as a shared services platform and is therefore responsible for processing the national mass payment transactions. At the beginning of 2021, PSA took over this role from the Austrian National Bank’s Geldservice Austria (GSA) subsidiary, and as a centre of expertise now handles both cashless payments and account-to-account transfers for the entire Austrian banking community. PSA ensures the smooth processing of domestic transfers and direct debits in Austria and also is responsible for establishing a multitude of international interfaces with foreign banks. Worldline will support PSA in its role as a technical partner and bring to bear the expertise it has gained from running several national clearing houses, including those in the Netherlands, Aruba and Curacao. It is expected that from 2023 the services will be delivered via Worldline’s central technical interface.

The two companies are therefore extending their cooperation, which first began in card-based payments back in 2012, into a major new and future-oriented area.

Instant account-to-account payments in real time are poised to become a key feature of the modern consumer experience in the European payment universe that enables banks to position themselves effectively in the digital retail environment. This could happen as early as 2023. Worldline has already brought into service the requisite Europe-compliant platform at multiple banks in the Netherlands and a leading German bank. The highly enabled solution caters for all possible use cases for instant payments, from P2P, P2B, in-store and online applications through to corporate environments.

Through even closer cooperation, Worldline and PSA will be able to influence how European banks future-proof themselves with the latest payment types and the right technical partners. The partnership has demonstrated how banks can take advantage of their position in the European financial sector amid the international competition with US powerhouses, fintechs and card schemes to offer innovations that are attuned to market demand.

“PSA’s combined clearing and payment systems can provide highly effective support to its customers and Austria’s entire financial sector” commented David Ostah, PSA’s Managing Director. “By working with Worldline, we can bring European expertise to Austria and combine it with our own know-how. Together, we are in an even better position to provide comprehensive cutting-edge solutions for banks and accompany them along all their challenges in market demand and latest trends.”

“Worldline plays a key role at the heart of several countries’ banking system”, added Michael Steinbach, Worldline’s Head Financial Services. “As a longstanding partner of PSA we are delighted that we will also soon be processing Austrian interbank payments and laying the foundations alongside PSA for the instant payments of the future. Our vision is to be able to shape the future of payments with a pan-European solution, featuring secure, seamless and advanced payments - irrespective of whether they are card or account-based.”