Ireland\u2019s three retail banks say they will introduce a mobile payment service next year.<\/p>\n
Zippay, a joint collaboration by AIB<\/a>, Bank of Ireland<\/a> and PTSB<\/a>, is set to debut in early 2026, the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) announced<\/a> Monday (Sept. 8).<\/p>\n According to the announcement, Zippay will be an in-app service provided through the lenders\u2019 mobile banking apps, delivered by PayTech company Nexi<\/a>. Users will be able to instantly send, request and split payments using the mobile number of contacts who are also on the service.<\/p>\n \u201cDeveloped in response to customer feedback and demand, this will provide a quick and easy way to send and receive money or split bills with friends, family and contacts who are also Zippay users,\u201d said Brian Hayes<\/a>, chief executive at the BPFI.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be delivered through customers\u2019 existing mobile banking apps and therefore comes with all the same high levels of security, protection, and digital safety and avoids the need for topping up a digital wallet or downloading a separate app.\u201d<\/p>\n While the announcement never mentions the company by name, a number of reports on the launch note that Zippay will serve as an alternative to Revolut<\/a>, the UK-based FinTech that is the most widely-used instant payments<\/a> service in Ireland, with upwards of\u00a0 three million customers within that country.<\/p>\n The planned launch of Zippay comes as mobile payments continue to grow in popularity around the world.<\/p>\n The PYMNTS Intelligence report \u201cPocket Revolution: How Mobile Wallets Are Changing Payments Worldwide\u201d<\/a>\u00a0found that mobile wallets now power 35% of online transactions and 21% of in-store transactions across the 11 countries studied for the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n