Card payment
A card payment product covers the payment segments where cards win: recurring payment plans, low-friction one-tap payment, cross-border payment on saved cards. Ecommerce teams keep this payment product where it fits.
eCommerce · Pay-by-bank
Payment initiation services for eCommerce
Pay-by-bank for online stores. The user pays direct from their own bank, the licensed PIS provider conducts the payment initiation, and the eCommerce merchant releases the order after a signal of confirmation of the C2B account credit arrives, not on a raw "payment initiated" callback.
How it works
How a pay-by-bank checkout works
Six steps, each with the party that performs it named explicitly. The eCommerce merchant is one of six actors on the flow, not the one who runs the payment.
- 01
Customer
The customer picks pay-by-bank at the eCommerce checkout and selects their bank from the list surfaced by the platform.
- 02
Licensed PIS provider
Payment initiation is conducted by a licensed PIS provider that reaches the customer's bank. The user's payment consent flow is orchestrated by that PIS provider, not by the merchant and not by viaBanking.
- 03
Customer's bank
Strong customer authentication is hosted and verified by the customer's account-issuing bank. The customer completes SCA on the bank's own domain, using the bank's own login and second factor.
- 04
Customer's bank
The bank moves the funds from the customer's account towards the merchant's C2B account. Movement of funds happens between the two banks; viaBanking does not move funds and does not settle them.
- 05
Platform
The platform confirms, via the account provider's API in read-only mode, that funds have actually been credited to the merchant's C2B account. This is the merchant-side final signal.
- 06
eCommerce merchant
The eCommerce merchant releases the order on the final signal. Releasing on the earlier provider confirmation is possible but carries risk on the merchant's side.
Where the risk sits
Why a raw "payment initiated" is not enough for an online store
An eCommerce merchant ships product. Releasing a shipment on an intermediate signal can cost the merchant the order value. The three cases below are the ones eCommerce teams hit most often.
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Order released too early
The provider returned a success callback, the merchant application released the shipment, but the funds never reached the merchant's C2B account. The eCommerce merchant is now short a payment.
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Payment consent revoked before the credit lands
There are situations where the user can revoke the payment consent before funds leave the bank; it depends on the bank's setup. Reading the intermediate confirmation as final hides that window.
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Silent bank failures
A bank rail can degrade between the intermediate confirmation and the actual movement of funds. Without an explicit credit signal the eCommerce merchant learns about failures from customer support, not from the transaction pipeline.
The safe signal
C2B account credit verification for eCommerce
Once the user's bank has moved the funds, the platform confirms, via the account provider's API in read-only mode, that the credit has actually landed on the merchant's C2B account. That is the signal an eCommerce merchant releases the order against.
No claim about irrevocability is made here. Payment behaviour is described mechanically. The eCommerce merchant reads a boolean: account credit confirmed, or account credit not yet confirmed. The release decision remains with the merchant. See the transaction API page for the exact callbacks the merchant application receives.
Prerequisites
What an eCommerce team needs to have in place
The onboarding is three-sided by design. Honest about what runs on the platform and what stays direct with the account provider.
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A C2B account with a licensed EMI or bank
Every eCommerce merchant needs a C2B account with a licensed EMI or bank. Onboarding for the C2B account is direct with the account provider; viaBanking is a software layer over the payment initiation and the credit-verification flow.
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An agreement with an open banking provider
Payment initiation is conducted by a licensed PIS provider. The merchant either contracts with one directly, or uses providers that are already in the viaBanking network.
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The viaBanking integration
The merchant integrates once with the viaBanking platform to route open banking payment initiation, receive callbacks and read the credit signal into the C2B account.
Cards vs pay-by-bank
Mechanical differences between cards and pay-by-bank
Only mechanics on this table. No legal properties, no rate comparisons.
| Dimension | Cards | Pay-by-bank |
|---|---|---|
| Where the customer authenticates | Card details on the merchant checkout or an issuer 3DS page | On the customer's own bank domain, using the bank's SCA |
| Who moves the funds | The card network and the acquirer under scheme rules | The customer's bank moves the funds to the merchant's C2B account |
| What the merchant sees | Authorisation response, then settlement report from the acquirer | Intermediate provider confirmation, then a final signal on the C2B account credit |
| Order-release trigger | Typically the authorisation response | Recommended on the final credit signal, on the merchant's decision |
| Where the credit lands | Merchant bank account after acquirer settlement | Merchant's C2B account at a licensed EMI or bank |
Payment products
Payment products that fit into an ecommerce checkout
Most ecommerce teams do not run one payment product; they run several. Pay-by-bank sits inside that payment product mix and does not replace the other payment methods.
Wallet payment
Wallet payment products cover the payment segments where a stored payment method is strong. The wallet payment button sits next to the card payment button and the pay-by-bank payment button in the same checkout payment row.
Pay-by-bank payment
The A2A payment product is added as one more payment option for customers who want a direct bank payment. Each payment product has its own payment lifecycle; the merchant application decides which payment product to show per customer segment.
Payment product ownership stays with the merchant. viaBanking is not a payment institution and does not act as a payment processor; the pay-by-bank payment is initiated by a licensed PIS provider, and the funds move between the customer's bank and the merchant's C2B account. The merchant chooses when to present the payment option, how to price the payment product internally and how to route each payment. The platform supports the payment flow with the confirmed credit signal after the funds have moved. For ecommerce teams that run pay-by-bank alongside cards, the payment operations picture stays consistent: the same payment records are stored per customer, the same payment support process handles disputes and refunds, and the same finance flow reads the payment data.
Support & resources
Support for ecommerce payment teams
Payment operations in ecommerce is a support-heavy job. The viaBanking support model is scoped to payment questions; regulated advice stays with the merchant and the licensed provider.
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Sandbox support
Covers every payment scenario a merchant needs to test before going live. Sandbox resources let the team run each payment path end to end against realistic fixtures.
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Integration support
Helps the payment engineering team wire the callbacks correctly per payment product. Documentation resources cover the callback shapes for every open banking payment state.
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Operational support
Focuses on the payment lifecycle after go-live: intermediate confirmations, final credit signals, and edge cases where a payment does not land on the C2B account.
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Escalation support
A dedicated payment contact is offered for merchants above a payment volume threshold, so the ecommerce team can escalate a payment issue quickly during peak sales periods.
Support does not extend into compliance advice. Every payment question tied to regulation is routed back to the merchant's own compliance team or to the licensed payment provider. viaBanking gives structured payment logs and callback replay as a resource the compliance team can use; the payment interpretation stays on the merchant side. Payment support is bundled with every plan, and additional payment resources are published alongside every release.
Payment mix
Adding pay-by-bank alongside the existing payment stack
Every ecommerce team that adds pay-by-bank asks the same question: does the payment volume shift, or does the payment product mix grow? The honest answer is that it depends on the customer base, the market and the payment amount ranges. Some ecommerce merchants see a share of the payment volume shift from cards to the new open banking payment; others see the payment volume grow because pay-by-bank opens a new customer segment that did not complete the previous payment flow.
The pay-by-bank payment product tends to fit larger baskets and specific verticals where the payment amount makes the customer pause before a card payment. It also fits merchants in markets where open banking payment awareness is higher than card comfort. In every case, the payment decision belongs to the merchant application and the customer, not to viaBanking.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions from eCommerce teams
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When can we release the order?
The safe recommendation is to release the order on the final credit signal. That is the confirmation, via the account provider's API in read-only mode, that funds have actually been credited to the merchant's C2B account. The intermediate provider confirmation is not a release signal on its own.
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Who holds the money?
The customer's bank holds the funds until they move. Once the movement completes, the funds sit in the merchant's C2B account at the licensed EMI or bank that issued it. viaBanking is a software layer and does not hold customer or merchant funds at any point.
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What happens if the funds do not arrive?
The platform does not deliver a final credit signal for that transaction, and the eCommerce merchant does not release the order. The intermediate provider confirmation stays in the transaction log so the merchant can reconcile the case with the licensed provider and the customer.
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How fast is a pay-by-bank checkout?
Payment initiation is fast because the customer only authenticates on their own bank. Actual credit into the merchant's C2B account depends on the bank rail and the licensed provider; the platform reports the final signal when the credit lands.
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Do we still need a card payment option?
Most eCommerce checkouts run pay-by-bank alongside cards. Pay-by-bank fits customers who prefer a direct bank payment and merchants who want a confirmed credit signal on the C2B account before releasing an order.
Ship eCommerce orders against confirmed bank payments
Talk to sales about wiring pay-by-bank into an online store. For a wider read on the solution surface, see the open banking solutions page or the payment initiation services hub.
viaBanking is a software and technology provider. Regulated payment initiation and account information services are delivered by licensed partner institutions. viaBanking does not hold an AIS or PIS licence, does not execute bank payments and does not move funds.