GoCardless Forms Partnership with Xero to Offer Open Banking Service in UK

GoCardless, the global leader in direct bank payments has announced it has partnered with Xero, a New Zealand-based technology company that provides cloud-based accounting software for small- and medium-sized businesses, to provide its Instant Bank Pay feature to Xero's customers in the UK.

Instant Bank Pay is a new open banking feature directly integrated into the GoCardless global payment platform. With Instant Bank Pay, Xero users can receive one-off bank-to-bank payments from new and existing customers while still reaping the benefits of Direct Debit for their recurring payments.

Merchants can add the Instant Bank Pay option straight into their checkout flow or simply send a payment request with a link to pay. Similar to a mobile wallet payment, customers are seamlessly connected to their bank, and can authorise a payment directly from their bank account in just a few clicks.

Duncan Barrigan, Chief Product Officer and Chief Growth Officer at GoCardless, said: "It's been a pleasure to work hand-in-hand with Xero over the past six years, and we're strongly aligned in our mission to help small businesses take the pain out of getting paid. This integration is the first step to offering Xero's customers in the UK access to the next era of bank payments through Instant Bank Pay, making their payments faster, cheaper and easier."

Leigh O'Neill, EGM, Global Financial Services at Xero said: "One of the biggest challenges for small businesses is the time it takes to generate and issue invoices and then chase payments using multiple systems. We recognise that integrated online payments are not only making a huge difference when it comes to saving time, but also in helping businesses look professional and credible by providing multiple payment options for different types of customer needs. The GoCardless Instant Bank Pay feature is another way Xero is making it easier for businesses to seamlessly collect payments from their customers."