Volt Launches Pay-by-Bank Partnership With Luxury Retailer Farfetch

Real-time payments platform Volt has launched a partnership with luxury retailer Farfetch.

The collaboration, announced Wednesday (Sept. 18), allows Farfetch customers in the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands make instant payments directly from their bank accounts.

“With the real-time payments integration, Farfetch customers can now complete their payments in a few taps by simply choosing ‘Pay by Bank’ at checkout, selecting their bank, and approving the payment in their banking app through biometric authentication,” Volt said in a news release.

“Adding this payment solution to the checkout benefits the purchase experience and speeds up the settlement process, as real-time payments run on domestic instant rails, enabling immediate transfer of funds.”

The release adds that pay by bank removes chargebacks, reduces card fraud risks, and lifts card processing fees. The solution will be available on farfetch.com and brownsfashion.com.

“We believe that real-time payments have a transformative potential for retail, enriching customer experience, reducing costs and adding security,” said Kat Marangos, vice president for strategic accounts at Volt.

“This is particularly important for large-value purchases, so we are excited to see Farfetch leading the real-time payments revolution within the retail landscape.”

The partnership comes as open banking continues to reshape the financial ecosystem, as PYMNTS wrote earlier this week.

“Open banking can play a role in the future of payments,” that report said. “The integration of technologies like account-to-account (A2A) transfers and pay-by-bank services, promises quicker, more efficient transactions. But the reality is many are still waiting for their payments.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence and NCR Voyix shows that close to half of consumers experience up to a week-long wait for payouts, in stark contrast with the 43% who prioritize real-time payments, a disconnect spotlighting a critical area for improvement.

A2A transfers, the report added, show a high degree of potential, with 84% of users reporting strong satisfaction with the speed and ease of use found on their A2A platforms.

“This enthusiasm reflects the transformative power of open banking, suggesting that addressing the delay in traditional systems could capture consumer preference for faster payment solutions,” PYMNTS wrote.

Meanwhile, financial institutions (FIs) are increasingly turning to Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) models, showing a shift toward more agile payment processing methods. The research notes 78% of American FIs see faster payment networks as crucial, while half of all mid-tier FIs have already implemented or are planning to employ PaaS.