Payment initiation API
Payment initiation API for financial services
Use the payment initiation API to initiate secure bank payments through one open banking API, with provider routing, normalised payments flows and a single set of webhooks for every open banking financial services team.
Free sandbox · One open banking API for every bank.
- 1One open API
- ∞Aggregated PSPs
- 2.5k+Banks & EMIs
- AIS+ PIS coverage
- SCASecure consent
- SDKDeveloper-ready
Definition
What is a payment initiation API?
In business terms, a payment initiation API lets a customer pay direct from their bank account through an open banking flow with no card, no wallet, no intermediate balance. Financial services teams use the open API to settle bank-to-bank in seconds and skip card fees.
Technically, a payment initiation API is the PIS layer of the open banking stack. viaBanking exposes one open API that handles the user's payment consent, SCA, payment initiation, status and webhooks across any bank. Use one URL; the API routes the payment to the right bank for the customer's financial information scope. See the solutions overview.
The problem
Open banking is regulated. Bank APIs are not uniform.
Every bank publishes its own open banking APIs. Most bank APIs are technically compliant, operationally different. The PSD2 open banking APIs are not uniform: AISP APIs, PISP APIs, sandbox APIs and production APIs behave differently per bank. These are the bank APIs problems the viaBanking open API solves:
-
Integration fatigue
A single bank APIs integration looks easy. Twenty bank APIs across financial services markets do not. Use one open API instead of twenty bank APIs.
-
Provider fragmentation
One PIS provider for Germany, a new aggregator for France, an EMI for a third market. Different bank APIs per provider. Different financial shapes per APIs vendor.
-
Inconsistent bank APIs
One bank APIs implementation returns payment status flat, the next nests it. Status names, retry rules and error shapes vary across bank APIs on every new release.
-
Compliance & maintenance
PSD2 licences, SCA exemptions, audit logs, RTS amendments. Each new EBA opinion piles maintenance cost onto financial services teams.
PSPs, banks and EMIs behind a single normalised payment contract.
1
1
2,500+
30+
99.99%
The viaBanking solution
One open API for every bank payment
viaBanking is the universal open banking aggregator. We integrate the bank APIs of PSPs, banks and EMIs, normalise the payments model and expose one open API. The bank APIs stay live through our routing partners; the customer keeps the familiar open banking flow on their own bank.
One auth flow, one payments contract, one set of webhooks. Use the open banking API for payment initiation. Use the same APIs for account information. Use the new APIs to support every payments workflow. Finance gets a single open banking ledger view.
Core capabilities
Everything the payment initiation API ships
- PIS
Payment initiation
Start single, bulk and recurring payments from any consented bank account. Use one open banking API instead of multiple bank APIs. Use the same API end-to-end.
- AIS
Account information
Use the same open API to pull balances, payments and account information for every linked bank, with no separate AIS APIs.
- VFY
Account verification
Confirm bank account ownership and name match before a payment goes out. One open API for every check.
- DATA
Transaction retrieval
Pull statement information within bank-permitted windows. One financial schema across every open banking bank APIs source.
- FSM
Status handling
One unified payments state machine (Pending, Authorised, Settled, Failed) across every bank APIs source.
- EVT
Webhooks
Signed webhook callbacks on any consent, payment or account state change. Your application reacts in real time.
- SBX
Sandbox & testing
A free, no-card sandbox simulates every open banking payments flow and every bank APIs response. Use it for support.
- DOCS
API documentation
Code-first reference with payments samples in five languages. Read the API reference.
Use cases
Where financial services teams put the payment initiation API to work
- 01
Merchant payments
Use pay-by-bank at checkout. The customer pays direct from their bank account; the open API settles in seconds and skips card fees.
- 02
Pay-outs & refunds
Pay out wages, refunds and marketplace splits direct to any customer bank account. One open API for every pay-out.
- 03
Personal & SME payments
Personal customers and SMEs use the same flow. Personal payment limits and personal consent windows are handled by the API.
- 04
Reconciliation
Match incoming payments to invoices across every linked bank. One open banking API for every financial reconciliation step.
- 05
Regional expansion
Open a new market by switching banks on, not by rebuilding code. See coverage on the pricing page.
Integration flow
From API access to live payment monitoring
- 01
Request API access
Sign the developer terms, get sandbox keys the same day. No procurement gate.
- 02
User's payment consent & SCA
Redirect the customer to their bank. The bank handles SCA; viaBanking stores the user's payment consent for every financial services scope.
- 03
Payment request
Call
/paymentswith amount, currency and payee. One open API contract for any bank in the open banking network. - 04
Response handling
Use the unified status model and listen for webhooks. Render the open banking payment outcome to the customer.
- 05
Production monitoring
Promote your code, point at live banks and watch every payment from one dashboard. Runbooks in the developer docs.
Security & compliance
Explicit user's payment consent. SCA on the bank. Financial information minimised.
Every open banking payment needs the user's explicit, revocable payment consent. SCA runs on the bank side; viaBanking never sees credentials. Financial data minimisation means the API stores only scope fields your financial services application needs.
The open banking platform operates within PSD2 and tracks the new PSD3 guidance. Licence details vary by market , review scope on our about page before going live.
- Consent capture & revocation, audit-logged per bank
- SCA orchestration: personal credentials stay with the bank
- Financial data minimisation per scope, per application
- TLS in transit, encryption at rest across the open banking layer
- Open banking customer support included on every plan
FAQ
Common questions before you ship the payment initiation API
How fast can a financial services team go live with the payment initiation API?
Any team can ship a sandbox call on day one. A production roll-out across the banks you need usually takes two to four weeks.
Which banks and account types does the API cover?
Over 2,500 EU bank connections and major EMIs. Any open banking account that supports PIS will let your customer pay direct from their bank.
Does the API support both account information and payment initiation?
Yes. Use one open API for AIS information and PIS payment initiation. One contract, one auth flow for every financial services workflow.
Who handles the user's payment consent and SCA on a payment initiation call?
The bank handles SCA. The customer authenticates with their bank, approves the open banking payment, and viaBanking returns a clean status.
When can my application start initiating payments in production?
As soon as production API keys are issued and the banks you need are enabled. The sandbox contract stays live.
Is the API suitable for regulated financial services firms?
Yes. Regulated firms (banks, EMIs, lenders, marketplaces) use the same open API with dedicated SLAs, customer support, audit logs and routing controls.
Free sandbox · No card needed
Ready to ship the payment initiation API? Get sandbox access today.
Get sandbox access and ship a payment initiation API call in a day. Use one open banking API for every bank, every payment, every financial services workflow.