Fidelity International, a global asset manager and retirement savings business, has partnered with Tink, A Visa Solution, to introduce Pay by Bank for account top-ups. This fast, secure, open banking payment method is now available to Fidelity’s Personal Investing customers and advised clients on the Fidelity Adviser Solutions platform.
The new capability allows users to quickly fund a range of accounts, including ISAs, SIPPs, Cash Management Accounts, and General Investment Accounts, directly from their existing bank accounts. By using their secure bank log-in details, protected by Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) such as Face ID, the feature significantly removes friction from the investment funding process.
Removing friction from the investment journey
The integration of Pay by Bank directly addresses the operational challenge of traditional payment methods like manual bank transfers, enhancing the overall customer experience and convenience.
Ian Hood, chief digital officer, global platform solutions, Fidelity International, stated that the partnership aligns with the firm’s core mission. “Fidelity’s focus is always on making investing as accessible and straightforward as possible,” Hood said. He added that offering Pay by Bank gives both personal investors and advised clients a fast, convenient way to fund accounts, improving the customer journey.
Pay by Bank is an account-to-account (A2A) payment method powered by open banking, a sector seeing rapid global adoption. Data from Juniper Research projects that total open banking users will reach over 645 million globally by 2029.
Open banking at the heart of payments
The collaboration demonstrates how leading institutions are embracing open banking to modernize their payments infrastructure. Tink, a wholly owned subsidiary of Visa, is a market-leading open banking platform operating in 19 markets with over 3,000 connections to financial institutions.
Ian Morrin, head of payments at Tink, emphasized the forward-looking nature of the partnership. “Pay by Bank represents the next evolution of open banking payments, delivering a fast, secure way to pay directly from your bank account,” Morrin commented. “As adoption accelerates, we’re thrilled to see leading institutions like Fidelity put open banking at the heart of their payments experiences to make topping up investment accounts more seamless.”
The strategic alignment aims to make moving money quickly and safely an essential part of the investment ecosystem.