Tink open banking in Europe
A lender that checks a borrower's income from the bank account needs a connection to that bank, and so does an app that starts a payment from the account. Tink sells this connection as one interface to banks across Europe. It belongs to Visa.
Visa's European open banking platform
Tink's open banking products
Tink lists Pay by Bank for payments straight from the account, Sweeping VRP for moving money between a customer's own accounts in the UK, Account Check for verifying who owns an account, and Data Enrichment for sorting transactions into categories. Lenders and merchants use the same API to read account data or start a payment once the customer has agreed. Payment initiation services explains the license behind a payment, and open banking in Germany the use of account data in the German market.
From PSD2 access to the SPAA scheme
PSD2 obliges banks to give licensed providers access to payment accounts, but sets no price and no service beyond the basics. The SEPA Payment Account Access scheme of the European Payments Council adds a contract between banks and providers for services beyond the PSD2 minimum. Tink summarized the first rulebook on publication: one-off, future-dated and recurring payments, plus richer account data (Tink). The SPAA scheme covers the rulebook, and PSD3 and the PSR the next set of access rules.
Variable recurring payments
In the UK, variable recurring payments let a provider start payments within limits the customer sets once, for example to top up a savings account. Sweeping between a customer's own accounts is the regulated use case, and Tink offers it as Sweeping VRP. Tink has written on what VRPs can and cannot do (Tink). Variable recurring payments compares the UK model with the plans in the euro area.
Upcoming payments events in Europe
Payments & Digital Money
Risk & Compliance
Who owns Tink?
Visa. Tink became part of Visa in 2022 and is wholly owned by it. Visa in stablecoins, AI payments and card tokens describes Visa's other work in payments.
What is Tink Pay by Bank?
Pay by Bank is Tink's payment initiation product: the customer pays from the bank account, confirms the payment with the bank, and the money moves as a bank transfer, without a card.
In how many markets is Tink active?
Tink gives 19 European markets and connections to all major European banks.
Open banking and account data
Tink and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers open banking and account data in its Payments & Digital Money track. Banks and fintechs meet at Finance Loop events in Frankfurt and other German cities.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the adoption of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.