Real-time account-to-account payments are an emerging trend in digital payments and open banking. Payments are made in real-time: for merchants, settlement is instant, and it helps companies simplify back-office reconciliation when payments are missed.
Banked is a fintech company pioneering account-to-account payments and powering a global network of local payment methods and rails through a single API. In today’s Behind the Idea, we speak to Brad Goodall, CEO and founder of Banked, to learn more about the firm.
Tell us more about your company and its offering.
We are a global pay-by-bank solution, enabling instant bank payments that help businesses offer more efficient and cost-effective payments. Banked is building a platform that lets consumers pay for goods straight from their bank account with ease, speed and strong security measures. we are passionate about providing frictionless ways for consumers to make safe and secure payments.
Essentially, we enable businesses to take secure and instant digital payments at a fraction of the cost of other payment methods, giving consumers a simple and secure checkout experience that connects them directly to their bank account to make a payment.
Fraud is drastically reduced by using bank-grade security and biometrics through a consumer’s own phone to authenticate users before payment is processed, decreasing the rate of chargebacks for both consumers and businesses.
What problem was your company set up to solve?
Unlike some global payment methods, customers do not need to create a new account or pass any login information to us – they just choose their existing bank at checkout and are securely connected to their mobile banking app to authenticate the purchase biometrically. There is no manual card number data entry and no sharing of financial details.
Banked is building a new global network of local payment methods and rails delivered through a single API. Through our Pay by Bank solution, we are re-imagining mainstream payment methods and the current infrastructure facilitating digital payments around the world.
We focus on improving legacy experiences, reducing costs and providing operational efficiencies for businesses, through strategic partnerships with banks, payment providers, gateways and tech platforms. Businesses are able to provide a consistent checkout experience across regions, whether a consumer is transacting in the UK, Brazil or the US. We also enable businesses to drive customer engagement and loyalty with incentives and rewards integrated into the payment experience.
Since launch, how has your company evolved?
There is a real opportunity to build a global network of alternative payments, and we are focused on building the best strategic partnerships – we have some great investors with international banks and PSPs as commercial partners. We raised a series A extension last year and are focusing on market expansion, having launched in the USA and Australia, regions typically left un-tapped by real-time payment fintechs.
We’ve got an impressive and diverse team across the business; we’re in 16 geographies and have offices now set up in California, Australia and Lithuania, as well as London. We have an international team of over sixty employees across nine geographies. We’ve brought on talent from payment innovators such as Klarna, Adyen, PayPal, PayU, Stripe and Checkout, which brings rich payments experience to the business.
What has been the biggest challenge or most ‘tricky moment’ to overcome?
We are passionate about delivering the best end-to-end customer experience and adding value to the payment process – and we have found this works best with a tailored checkout flow, a localised user experience by market and segment, and a flexible incentives platform embedded into the infrastructure.
However, each of those three factors has come with a series of unique challenges and tests along the way. We take pride in being agile, moving quickly, and always being motivated to find a solution as efficiently as possible – which is what has enabled us to introduce so much so quickly.
What are your biggest achievements or ‘proudest moment’ so far?
It has been a crazy journey the past few years, but I can now proudly say I work with some of the most talented people in fintech at a company that stands for the values I have built my entire career on. Every month, we can see the rising demand from merchants and banks to play a role in the payment experience and build revenue streams that can offset the future decline of interchange income.
We believe moving money and data together is an untapped source of innovation and will change how we buy things and live with more useful and relevant experiences. And we know we are just getting started: last year, we raised our Series A and announced a partnership with Bank of America at the same time, which was an incredibly proud moment for us as a team.
How would you describe the culture of your company?
We see the company as a global, diverse, and inclusive place to be yourself. We’re committed to building a culture where everyone belongs, and we know that employing a diverse workforce is critical to our success and innovation. We are continually investing and reflecting on how we can further promote our diverse culture, a space for all to feel safe, seen and supported. Our values are to ‘Stay curious’, ‘Bring warmth’, and ‘Own + Deliver’.
I’m always thinking about how to keep everyone engaged, and it was truly incredible for the whole company to get together last September. We brought over 85 members of our team from 16 different countries to celebrate at our global meetup in London.
What’s in store for the future?
There is a lot in the plan! We’ve got further geographic expansion in the works and some exciting new partnerships we can announce soon. Leading banks are waking up to the significant opportunity it presents to improve the end-customer experience and merchant value proposition. We are seeing a queue forming to be part of this new payment network and help shape its future.
We’re expanding our product suite to solve payment problems in a wide range of use cases, including in-person, and creating digital alternatives to those payments that are slow to adapt to new technology.
