Woolworths Group ’s payment firm Wpay has chosen account-to-account payments fintech Zepto to power its PayTo solution via the New Payments Platform (NPP). The New Payments Platform (NPP) is a centralised platform that helps facilitate real-time clearing and settlements of businesses amongst participating Australian financial institutions.

Wpay, Zepto company information and collaboration details Wpay’s PayTo solution powered by Zepto on the NPP is set to enable real-time bank account verification, real-time payment validations, processing, settlement, and reconciliation. Launched in 2021, Wpay is Woolworths Group’s stand-alone payments business that looked to provide merchants with an end-to-end payments solution that includes both in-store and digital payments, payment services of the likes of expedited funds settlements and fraud management, as well as gift card programme management. A non-bank fintech, Zepto, formerly known as Split Payments, is the first non-authorised deposit-taking institution that received approval to connect to Australia’s NPP system as a ‘connected institution’, which is believed to give the company a ‘unique position, as per co-founder Chris Jewell statement quoted by Forbes Australia.

The company connects directly to the NPP infrastructure via SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) to offer the PayTo solution directly with the infrastructure, as opposed to via a third-party bank. In general, transactions require a third party for access to a card rail or a bank account rail, which oftentimes comes with additional costs, however, Zepto’s infrastructure has no requirement for a card, as it drives payments directly from bank accounts instead of through card schemes. In terms of the companies’ collaboration, Wpay’s managing director, Paul Monnington believes Zepto to be the natural choice as a PayTo partner due to its direct connection to NPP payment rails.

The official also stated that they have noticed a growing demand for real-time payments, as they enable immediate processing and settlement of transactions, which in turn provides increased convenience and speed when compared to traditional payment methods. The partnership looks to launch a retail use case for PayTo that would enable instant, secure payments, straight from customer bank accounts and follows a common goal of both parties to deliver improved customer payment experiences via real-time, digital A2A payment solutions. In an initial stage, Wpay is set to begin the PayTo rollout for business payments, followed by online and in-store payments via the Everyday Pay wallet at Woolworths supermarkets later throughout 2023.

As PayTo is looking to change how businesses approach payments while simultaneously helping mitigate the risks associated with missed payments and fraud, the announcement marks an important milestone within the Wpay journey, as it aims to reduce costs and drive engagement. .