Sionic rolls out 'Pay-By-Bank' real-time payment service

In addition to receiving funds immediately, merchants benefit by avoiding expensive credit card swipe fees. The company has aligned with financial institutions, payments processors, and ecommerce partners to bring ‘Pay-by-Bank’ to the customer checkout experience.

Sionic’s RTP service includes an option for merchants to incent their customers for paying with their bank accounts over rewards-based credit cards. Pay-by-Bank Perks include instant cash back (discount), spend x, get y, or free goods and services, all at the sole discretion of each merchant.

Company officials stated that this is a good step forward in helping merchants combat inflation. From local businesses to global enterprises, merchants continue to be plagued by credit card fees. In 2020, those fees amounted to more than USD 110 billion. Consumers also amassed an abundance of late fees from these same credit card companies. Bringing instant digital bank payments to commerce provides a new way to reallocate value back to both the merchants and the consumers.

Sionic is delivering instant bank-to-bank transfers from consumers to merchants. Its ULink solution is bringing real-time direct deposits to the point of sale via mobile, online, in-store, or in-vehicle experiences. The company has partnered with financial institution owners of The RTP Network for bank payments and CyberSource, a Visa solution, for secure card payment processing. Merchants accepting real-time payments bypass card swipe fees and receive POS cash deposits immediately. Consumers receive special perks for paying with their bank accounts.