Fintech API Stitch launches Linkpay to enable payments through a tokenized financial account

Fintech API payments and data Point today announced the launch of the first-ever linked account payment product that enables variable recurring payments: LinkPay.

With LinkPay, businesses in South Africa and Nigeria can accept secure one-click payments directly from a user’s financial account.

The payment experience is as convenient as a tokenized card, but without high fees or chargebacks.

LinkPay can be integrated with Stitch Payouts and Financial Data products to enable a full linked account journey, including verified payments, refunds and withdrawals.

Traditional payment methods no longer meet the needs of African consumers, who demand faster, more convenient and more secure means of payment.

Additionally, businesses face long settlement times, high fees (up to 3.5% in South Africa) and chargebacks on card transactions, as well as high fraud rates , which affects their ability to grow. In South Africa, debit card fraud totaled R520.5 million in 2020.

Additionally, paying by manual bank transfer is expensive and highly frustrating, and repeated transactions require consumers to log in and initiate payments uniquely each time.

Stitch LinkPay addresses these challenges with a more cost-effective, frictionless and secure payment product that tokenizes users’ financial accounts to enable one-click payments (known as Instant EFT in South Africa and Pay-by-Bank in Nigeria). ):

• One-Click Payments for Repeat Users: Repeat users can choose to link their financial accounts as the default payment method by logging in through Stitch once, and can top up or pay with one click each time – no repeat logins is required
• Link and Pay Later: Users can pre-link an account and return at any time to make a payment. This is useful for products such as scan-to-pay apps, investment offerings, and any fintech app that involves repeated transactions from the same main financial account.
• Verified Payments: Once a user’s account is linked, LinkPay can be combined with Stitch Financial Data to reference account details such as name or ID for verified payments with reduced risk of fraud. Additionally, balances and transaction history can also be checked for “smart” payments that fail less
• Seamless payments via API: the combination of LinkPay + Stitch Payouts allows users to receive refunds or make withdrawals to the same verified account used for a payment

Junaid Dadan, Product Manager at Stitch, said: “With LinkPay, Stitch can enable businesses to deliver a smoother and more secure payment experience, making it easier than ever for their customers to pay and reduce costs.

Combined with the Stitch Financial Data and Payouts products, LinkPay offers a truly unique closed-loop linked account experience for returning users – from fast and seamless onboarding to payments and one-click payments.

As a result, businesses will see higher conversion rates, reduced costs, and ultimately a more convenient experience for their users. »

Key use cases for Stitch LinkPay include:

Fintechs

Repeat users of digital wallets, investing and savings apps, scan-to-pay solutions and more can make fast and secure deposits, pay for services and withdraw funds whenever they need, through the same verified financial account

Marketplaces and platforms

Users can link a bank account to their Rideshare, Delivery or Marketplace profile for fast payouts, and vendors can get paid the same day

E-commerce companies

For e-commerce businesses that enable connected payments, repeat users can pay with one click through their saved payment method

Businesses interested in integrating Stitch LinkPay can access test credentials and get started in minutes through Stitch self-service platform.

Over the next three months, South African businesses integrating Stitch LinkPay will also be able to access financial data for free.

Stitch was released stealth in February 2021 and expanded into Nigeria in October 2021. The company raised $21 million in Series A funding in February 2022. Backers include PayPal Ventures, TrueLayer, firstminute capital, The Raba Partnership, CRE Venture Capital, Village Global, Zinal Growth (the investment vehicle of Checkout.com founder Guillaume Pousaz) and Angels, including the founders and early builders of Chipper Cash, Monzo, Venmo, GoCardless, Plaid, Unit and more.

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