Volt chosen by luxury fashion marketplace as real-time payments partner

Global marketplace for luxury fashion Farfetch has chosen Volt as its real-time payments partner, enabling its customers in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands to make instant payments directly from their bank accounts.

Volt’s ‘Pay by Bank’ solution will be made available on farfetch.com and brownsfashion.com.

By choosing Pay by Bank at checkout, Farfetch’s customers can select their bank, and approve the payment in their banking app through biometric authentication, thereby speeding up the settlement process.

The other benefits of Pay by Bank cited by Volt include the removal of chargebacks and reduction in card fraud risks, as well as the elimination of card processing fees.

Farfetch said that geographic coverage, global approach, “far-reaching” bank connectivity and “streamlined” payment experience were the main factors behind partnering with Volt.

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

“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.”

Marangos added that Farfetch is known for its commitment to quality service and exceptional buyer experience, thereby setting a high standard for Volt to uphold.

In April this year, Juniper Research projected that the instant payments market will swell by 161% to surpass $58 trillion globally by 2028, driven by account-to-account (A2A) wallets and Open Banking payments.

Mark Hobbs, senior director of fintech operations at Farfetch, added: “We’re pleased to partner with Volt, which provides our customers with secure, fast, and seamless additional payment options that enhance the online purchasing experience.

“Volt is dedicated to building the global real-time payment network and is a great partner for improving the payment experience.”

Earlier this month, Volt announced the launch of a stablecoin settlement solution, called VX2, which will be headed up by  Tom Greenwood, who will transition from his current role as chief executive officer of Volt, to lead VX2 as its new chief executive officer.