Initiating Payment

Currently, the Token API supports payment initiation for the following transaction categories:

Each flow is covered in more detail in the topics links above. But, before delving deeperinto the payment flows, there are some general concepts with which to become familiar. Obviously, only banks supporting the transaction category (single, future-dated, recurring) requested by the user should be displayed to the user for selection after appropriate filtering of the GET /banks payload.

Additionally, in the parlance of Open Banking, "payments" are often referred to as "transfers" because the PSU is requesting that money be moved from one place to another. How and where it is transferred are called "beneficiary account details." Via the API, a TPP passes this information to its PSU's selected bank at the time of payment initiation. Money can be moved by the bank via domestic payment systems, SEPAClosedSingle Euro Payments Area – a payments system created by the European Union (EU) which harmonizes the way cashless payments transact between euro countries. European consumers, businesses, and government agents who make payments by direct debit, instant credit transfer, and through credit transfers use the SEPA architecture. The single euro payment area is approved and regulated by the European Commission. SEPA currently includes 36 members. It encompasses the 28 EU member states along with Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino. The single euro payment area remains an ongoing, collaborative process between these parties. SEPA is in the process of harmonizing rules regarding mobile and online payments. SCTClosedSEPA Instant Credit Transfer – Electronic retail payments processed in real time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; funds are made available immediately for use by the recipient., or the cross-border payment systems supported. The following table lists the various payment systems currently supported by the Token API and the respective routing information required.

Beneficiary Account Details
Payment System Fields to Set Applicable Country/Area
SEPAClosedSingle Euro Payments Area – a payments system created by the European Union (EU) which harmonizes the way cashless payments transact between euro countries. European consumers, businesses, and government agents who make payments by direct debit, instant credit transfer, and through credit transfers use the SEPA architecture. The single euro payment area is approved and regulated by the European Commission. SEPA currently includes 36 members. It encompasses the 28 EU member states along with Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Vatican City, Monaco and San Marino. The single euro payment area remains an ongoing, collaborative process between these parties. SEPA is in the process of harmonizing rules regarding mobile and online payments. • IBANClosedInternational Bank Account Number – a number attached to all bank accounts in the EU countries, plus Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Hungary. The IBAN is made up of a code identifying the country to which the account belongs, the account holder's bank, and the account number itself.
• BICClosedBank Identifier Code – a unique identifier for a specific financial institution. A BIC is composed of a 4-character bank code, a 2-character country code, a 2-character location code and an optional 3-character branch code.

Europe
Faster PaymentsClosedUK banking initiative to reduce payment times between different banks' customer accounts down to a few seconds from the three working days transfer time imposed under the BACS system. • SORT codeClosedNumber code used by British and Irish banks using six digits divided into three different pairs; for instance, 12-34-56. These codes, like many other bank codes, are used to identify the location of the bank where the account is held. The first two digits are usually bank identifiers. However, in some cases, the first code may describe the bank as well. It must be noted that the SORT code of a bank is integrated and encoded in the IBAN number of the account but not in the BIC codes of the account. A SORT code is used by banks to identify and route the money transfers to the respective bank and account. SORT codes are also called NSC or National SORT Code in Ireland and are regulated by the IPSO (Irish Payment Services Organization). A SORT Code in Ireland begins with the digit “9”.
• Account number		 UK
CHAPSClosedClearing House Automated Payments System – used by large financial institutions that need to transfer billions of dollars worth of currency each day. To assist in these transfers, CHAPS enables real-time fund transfers and can accommodate frequent large transfers with virtually no delay. The speed of CHAPS also substantially eliminates the risk that senders will cancel their transfers before they are accepted by the recipient. CHAPS is administered by the Bank of England (BoE) and is used by 30 participating financial institutions. Approximately 5,500 additional institutions also engage with the system by way of partnership agreements with the 30 primary members. • SORT code
• Account number		 UK
BACSClosedAn electronic payment made directly from one UK bank account to another, taking up to three working days to arrive. There are two main types of Bacs payment - Direct Credit, which is a bank transfer, and Direct Debit, where one party automatically takes payment from another party’s account with their authorisation. • SORT code
• Account number		 UK
ElixirClosedA payments system that ensures electronic interbank settlement in Poland. Transactions directed to the system are settled within one of three Elixir sessions held each business day and closed on the same day in the National Bank of Poland's SORBNET2 system, which guarantees interbank transfer of funds. Account number Poland
Express ElixirClosedAn instant payment clearing system in Poland which allows the direct execution of the transaction from the payer's account in one bank to the payee's account in another bank. It supports transaction settlement in near real time, without any intermediary institutions. Account number Poland
Blue CashClosedAn alternative to Express Elixir, the Blue Cash system does not have one dedicated account common to all participants. Instead, interbank transfers are executed on special intermediate accounts. Account number Poland
SORBNETClosedPoland's national RTGS system for high-value and urgent domestic payments. RTGS stands for real-time gross settlement, a continuous process of settling payments on an individual order basis without netting debits with credits across the books of a central bank (i.e., transaction bundling). SORBNET is owned and operated by the National Bank of Poland (NBP). It has 50 direct participants. Account number Poland
TARGET2ClosedOwned and operated by the Eurosystem, TARGET2 is the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system with payment transactions settled one by one on a continuous basis in central bank money with immediate finality. There is no upper or lower limit on the value of payments. TARGET2 mainly settles operations of monetary policy and money market operations. IBAN EU
HSVPClosedA real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) for large and time-sensitive transactions, as well as multilateral netting for small value payments. HSVP is owned and operated by the Croatian central bank (Hrvatska narodna banka, or HNB). IBAN Croatia
Domestic Non EuroClosedAny clearing and settlement mechanism or electronic retail payment system (ERPS) approved for domestic interbank transfer within a given EU member's borders. Depending on the country in question. such systems are built on different platforms and based on varying payment products and services to allow firms, individuals, government and other economic agents to transfer money on a daily basis without having to use cash. • IBAN
• BIC		 EU domestic payments systems
BankgiroClosedProprietary clearing system (a giro) in Sweden used for transactions such as bill payments. It is owned by Swedish banks. The clearing system is connected with the banks enabling payments to be received directly into bank accounts. • Bankgiro number Sweden
PlusGiroClosedFormerly PostGirot, PlusGiro is a Swedish money transaction system, owned by Nordea. • PlusGiro number Sweden
SWIFTClosedSociety for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication – provides a secure network allowing more than 10,000 financial institutions in 212 different countries to send and receive information about financial transactions to each other. As broadly used as SWIFT is, keep in mind that it is only a messaging system; SWIFT does not hold any funds or securities, nor does it manage client accounts. • Account number
• BIC		 International/cross-border payments

Whitelisting Beneficiary Accounts

The transfer destinations you designate in your PIS calls must first be manually added to the dashboard. These are typically TPP-controlled accounts administered for appropriate funds distribution according to the governing regulations where the TPP is licensed. In all cases, for proper payment request initiation, execution, and funds transfer to the correct beneficiary account(s), take the following steps:

  1. Sign in to the Developer Dashboard and select Beneficiary under Settings.
    The List of Accounts is displayed; initially, your list will be empty until you make some entries. Regardless, here you can Add, Modify and Delete accounts.
  2. Add an account by clicking the Add button, then enter the required information: Account Name, Currency, Country, Account Type, and IBAN. BIC is optional.
  3. Click Save to add the information.

Once saved, beneficiary accounts in the list are available as transfer destinations for the payments you initiate by specifying the Account Number/IBAN and optional BIC, as appropriate.