EasyBill integrated SmartPay, the first local online account-to-account payment service authorized by the NBR and developed by Smart Fintech
Bucharest, 15.02.2023
SmartPay is the first local online account-to-account payment service authorized by the National Bank of Romania. The Smart Fintech start-up has integrated the SmartPay solution with EasyBill, the online invoicing, automated inventory management, and document management platform. This partnership represents a premiere in the history of digitalized payments, offering over 45,000 users of the EasyBill platform the possibility to issue invoices that can be paid digitally. With such state-of-the-art software technology, transactions are fully automated and benefit from the highest existing IT security standards.
SMEs, service providers, travel agencies, and entrepreneurs will now benefit from including an account-to-account payment option in EasyBill invoices to their portfolio customers through Easy Transfer. Thus, the customer will initiate the payment with a single click from the online invoice, and SmartPay will direct him to his bank, along with the transaction details, where he will authorize the payment.
A significant advantage, which gives increased speed and security, is that no end-user needs to enter their card details, and the providers, EasyBill users, will not access or store confidential payment data. Moreover, third parties cannot access customer data, unlike classic card transactions.
SmartPay integration by EasyBill provides users with a complete and digitized service and an easy, non-fragmented experience that eliminates manual operations under maximum security provided by its bank.
"Digitalized online account-to-account payments with the help of SmartPay offer EasyBill users a secure, simple, and low-cost payment method. Fees at least 50% lower than when paying by card are now possible through Open Banking technology, which eliminates payment processors and card schemes and implicitly reduces the risk of fraud. The partnership with EasyBill brings this payment method to its users, with the solution already available on the platform. EasyBill users can issue invoices at any time and offer SmartPay for their payment which can be initiated right from the invoice", stated Alice Anghelea, Revenue Growth, Smart Fintech.
Thanks to the SmartPay solution's design, EasyBill users receive the money directly into their account instantly or by the next day. Other pluses are easy reconciliation and low cash-out costs compared to card payment fees. Also, with this new technology, errors that can occur when initiating payments can be avoided.
"The integration of the SmartPay solution by the EasyBill platform can translate into a complete service that provides a fast payment experience, made directly from the customer's bank account to the supplier's, without the need to access or store confidential payment information. An advantage for users is that using SmartPay does not require separate contracts with third parties. This partnership will enable over 45,000 EasyBill users to make direct payments from their accounts to customer accounts. This service is aligned with our strategic direction to offer Romanian SMEs the simplest digitalization and business automation solutions, as well as smart and fast financing options", stated Daniela Bojincă, Growth Marketing Manager, Filbo & EasyBill.
The digitalization of online account-to-account payments for payment acceptance and origination is increasing as web or mobile application providers consider easing the payments for their users.
"We noticed a continuously increasing interest in the market, especially from suppliers and integrators of ERP or billing platforms, but also applications for paying utilities. Even players offering entirely different types of financial services are integrating or at least evaluating SmartPay integration for their users. We are sure this partnership will generate even greater market adoption and contribute to developing faster and cheaper digital services, which is essential in Romanian entrepreneurs' and consumers' activity. We would not be surprised to see shortly how the end users of payment services will start asking their providers to integrate open banking services", stated Mihaela Georgescu, co-founder of Smart Fintech.
The partnership with EasyBill develops towards accessing transactions and bank balances directly with automation also achieved using Open Banking technology. EasyBill users will view bank information related to receipts and payments without accessing online banking applications, thanks to the Smart Accounts account query service, which provides this information automatically.
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About Smart Fintech
Smart Fintech is a Romania start-up created as an innovation lab in 2019, set to deliver innovative open banking solutions that emerge from two words: Finance and Technology. It is a self-sustained start-up co-founded by Mihaela Georgescu, Ana Maria Georgescu, Alexandru Cociu, and Andrei Dumitru. They worked together for many years on different information technology projects, and all share the enthusiasm for the innovative playground started by Open Banking. Their ambition is to create value-added services in Romania based on the PSD2 directive and help develop the Romanian market so that not only EU TPPs or fintechs in partnership with banks are the leading players.
About EasyBill & Filbo
EasyBill is one of Romania's leading online invoicing solutions, with over 45,000 users. The EasyBill online invoicing program is dedicated to small entrepreneurs and SMEs with 0 to 9 employees. EasyBill's vision is to provide SMEs with easy and affordable access to a business digitization and automation platform. As part of a larger companies group and together with colleagues from Filbo, the company offering the simplest digital solution with the fastest approval time on the market, enabling a Romanian entrepreneur to obtain financing for his business in just a few hours, EasyBill helps small businesses in Romania reach the #NextLevel.