The UK’s financial watchdog has granted real-time payments platform Volt an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence.

The move will allow the payments firm to develop its cash management product from which virtual accounts will now be issued to merchants.

These accounts receive account-to-account payments from merchants’ customers and provide real-time payment confirmation.

The licence will also enable the business to offer virtual accounts as a standalone product.

The company said that these accounts, which are expected to launch soon, are suited to enterprises that need to manage funds and complex reconciliation processes but don’t necessarily need payment initiation functionality at the checkout, for example global online travel agents that need to initiate bulk payouts to local suppliers in different jurisdictions.

“With this licence we are able to go even further in expanding our business,” said Tom Greenwood, chief executive, Volt. “By becoming an account provider as well as a payment initiator, it enables us to not only broaden our product set, but also adapt and enhance our broad commercial offering. We have already seen a number of our key customers benefiting from the capabilities the licence brings.”

In January, Volt announced a new partnership with Bumper that saw the roll out of Open Banking across car dealerships in the UK and Europe.

The collaboration allows consumers to pay for vehicle deposits, repairs, parts, services, and purchase vehicles outright through Open Banking.

Volt said that the partnership would help to "digitise dealerships" with a mobile-first experience and enable checkout flow and pay-by-link options.

It will roll out Open Banking payments across 5,000 dealerships throughout the UK, including at several major manufacturers like Audi, Ford, Porsche, and Volkswagen.

---