The fast-growing Swedish fintech enables instant account-to-account (A2A) payments and payouts, leveraging Europe’s open banking infrastructure. The launch of the company’s full solution in Germany marks its most significant market expansion to date, building upon its strong presence in the Nordics, Baltics, and Benelux as it continues to expand across Europe. 

“We now offer a complete solution to the German market – covering Instant Payments in addition to Instant Payouts – and can serve the needs of even more merchants and businesses,” said Lena Hackelöer, Founder and CEO, Brite Payments. “2024 is the year that A2A payments, or Pay by Bank, looks set to enter mainstream consciousness, and as the EU’s most populous country and the third-largest economy in the world, Germany represents enormous untapped potential.”

Now the world’s third-largest economy, Germany still faces macroeconomic headwinds and a weakened outlook, which for merchants and businesses has brought operational efficiency – including the role of payments strategy – into sharp focus. Instant payments offer businesses across a diverse range of sectors a way to tackle operational inefficiencies while alleviating pain points associated with many legacy payment methods.

Brite’s open banking-first approach to instant A2A payments enables 24/7/365 instant payments processing while mitigating fraud and eliminating chargebacks. The company’s ‘Single Sign’ capabilities make it possible for consumers to complete payment up to 40% faster, using only top-of-mind information and circumventing the need for account creation or registration. Brite relies upon its own proprietary network – Brite Instant Payments Network (Brite IPN) – for instant processing and to overcome the fragmentation that currently exists within Europe’s real-time payments landscape. 

Leading digital auction platform Auctionet, which already partners with Brite to offer instant payments to successful bidders through dozens of auction houses across Europe, is one of the first companies to offer Brite Instant Payments in Germany. Auctionet users in Germany now benefit from a user-friendly and secure payment option, while the auction houses benefit from automatic reconciliation and other back-office processes that increase efficiency.

Research conducted by Brite Payments and YouGov indicates growing consumer appetite in Germany – the EU’s largest country with a population of more than 80 million – for more secure and convenient payment methods. New data shows that two-thirds of Germans (67%) are already familiar with Pay by Bank or A2A payments, which although significantly less than in the Netherlands, UK, or Spain, highlights growing awareness. Pay by Bank is used at least monthly for online purchases by 38% of Germans, which is the same as credit cards, though lagging behind digital wallets (53%). Forty per cent of Germans indicate they are willing to try new forms of online payment, substantially higher than the UK (34%) and France (33%). 

Brite’s survey data reveals that payments in Germany are ripe for disruption, with consumer expectations converging with new approaches to enabling instant payment processing that ensure security and convenience as well as speed.

“Consumers now expect real-time interactions across all digital touchpoints and in all facets of their lives,” continued Hackelöer. “Far from being a laggard, our recent research shows the German market has huge growth potential for instant bank payments, as consumers seek online payments that are secure, without sacrificing convenience. Familiarity with bank transfer payment methods is already high, indicating a market that is primed for adoption of our user-friendly instant payments.”