Three Irish banks are launching a new peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service Zippay, which is going live this week. The platform is designed to compete with Revolut, which already has around 3 million P2P users in Ireland.
Zippay will initially be available to more than 5 million customers served collectively by AIB, Bank of Ireland, and PTSB. The service is expected to expand later to other European financial institutions that offer IBAN-based accounts.
The launch echoes a similar strategy in the U.S., where seven banks joined forces in 2017 to form Zelle to compete with Venmo.
Rather than requiring a standalone app, Zippay will operate within participating banks’ existing banking apps. Customers will be able to send up to €1,000 per day and request up to €500 per transaction. Like Zelle in the U.S., the service will offer consumers free access to instant payments. The underlying infrastructure is provided by the Italian payment technology provider Nexi.
“Digital and mobile payments are popular in Ireland, so we expect consumers are primed and ready for adoption of this new bank integrated platform,” said Ben Danner, Senior Analyst, Debit at Javelin Strategy & Research. “Zippay is a way for the banks to compete with fintechs like Revolut, who are grabbing a significant share of P2P payments in Ireland. It’s a similar story in the U.S. where Zelle competes with fintechs like PayPal and Venmo as well as Block’s Cash App.”
Second Chance
This isn’t the banks’ first attempt to build a shared payments platform. In 2020, the same three institutions—along with KBC Bank Ireland—launched a project called Synch to develop a standalone payments app known as Yippay. The initiative was abandoned in 2023 after KBC Bank Ireland closed.
The earlier effort also encountered regulatory hurdles. Requirements from the Central Bank of Ireland related to launching a new standalone app would have delayed the rollout by at least a year. By integrating Zippay into their existing banking apps, the banks avoided those additional approval requirements.
Facing the Competition
For consumers, Zippay may offer certain advantages over Revolut. As an e-money institution rather than a bank, Revolut operates under different regulatory constraints, including limits on customer deposits in some markets. Deposits held with banks participating in Zippay are protected by national deposit guarantee schemes, such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which insures deposits up to £85,000 if a bank fails.
Zippay will also compete with SEPA Instant Credit Transfer, which has been available to consumers in Ireland for just over a year. Developed with support from the European Commission and the European Central Bank, SEPA Instant enables cross-border transfers of up to €100,000 in 10 seconds or less.
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