How Open Banking can be a game-changer for iGaming operators

How to make the most of better bank payments.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to surprise and delight your players so they return regularly.

Well, clearly there are many ways to do this. For the purposes of this article, we’ll put the marketing, rewards and UX part aside and focus on what Inpay does best: pay-ins and pay-outs.

The good news is that surprising and delighting your players with payments is not mission impossible. Not even mission quite difficult.

Not if you add Open Banking into the mix.

In this article, we’ll cover:

What is Open Banking?

What are the benefits of Open Banking for players?

What are the benefits of Open Banking for iGaming operators?

Why get involved in Open Banking now?

How do iGaming operators get started with Open Banking?

What is Open Banking?

Open Banking describes a way of securely sharing data held by banks, if customers consent to this. 

Better bank payment is just one of its game-changing use cases. Customers connect to their bank accounts locally and pay into their iGaming accounts in seconds. 

That’s irrespective of where the customer – or your business – is based. We’ve got you covered with thousands of connections to banks in the EU and UK.

All in all, Open Banking payments are not only speedier, simpler and safer for players. They also help iGaming operators boost conversion, player satisfaction and cost savings.

What are the benefits of Open Banking for players?

For players, Open Banking payments direct from bank accounts are:

• Speedier – slicker and quicker than topping up wallets, typing in card details or manually completing an old-style bank transfer.
• Simpler – at checkout, players select ‘bank transfer’, find their bank and confirm payment. It’s that simple and funds transfer is instant or near instant.
• Safer – protected by bank-grade security, players approve pay-ins within their own banking app, so sensitive details are never keyed in or stored.

What are the benefits of Open Banking for iGaming operators?

For iGaming operators, Open Banking payments help drive:

• More conversion – 20% of consumers abandon their purchase if their preferred payment method is not available. When not all players have credit cards or can use them on your site, due to local legal restrictions, it pays to offer a choice of ways to pay.
• More satisfaction – a great UX and more familiar payment methods help drive spend, loyalty and, ultimately, revenue.
• More savings – no chargebacks, interchange or card scheme fees, and lower false positives and declines help reduce the cost of accepting payments.

The benefits of Open Banking don’t stop there. Here are six more reasons why better bank payments are mission-critical:

1. A2A – funds move direct from one account to another, cutting both intermediaries and costs.
2. Coverage – thousands of local bank accounts are available via a single API connection, so no need to negotiate and integrate with each bank individually.
3. Instant transaction notification – each payment is confirmed to both parties or rejected for increased certainty, better reconciliation and control.
4. No 3D secure or SCA – players authenticate simply online or via banking app, often with face or finger, minimizing drop-out rates.
5. Security – no need for sensitive card data to be shared or stored, which reduces PCI DSS scope.
6. Settlement – funds are available on account in or near real-time for better cashflow.

Why get involved in Open Banking now?

Bank account-funded payments have always been popular, especially in Europe. They’re what customers know and feel comfortable with. However, several overlapping trends are turbo-charging the interest and reach of Open Banking.

• Covid kick-start – the global pandemic accelerated the shift from land-based to online gaming. Today’s players game on their mobile phones and tablets. Augmented reality and virtual reality products have also boosted demand for e-sports experiences. Friction-free, digital-first journeys are now must-haves. 
• Rise in real-time – there were 64 live real-time payment schemes globally in 2022, accounting for nearly $525 billion in e-commerce transaction value. This is set to grow at a CAGR of 13% through 2026.
  Waiting 3-5 days for a cross-border bank transfer to clear is too slow. Speed, along with coverage, is important for how quickly and easily iGaming operators can enter new markets, turn on new currencies, grow revenue and market share.

• Payment as an operating system – every company will be a fintech company, according to venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. This means more ways to embed payment at the point of need. And better, smoother UX flows.
  After all, players want to play, not pay. FOMO is real. They want quick and easy funding of their gaming accounts. When they win, they want pay-outs to be just as quick and easy, so they can celebrate and play again.