After Pix, which revolutionised the way Brazilians transfer money, another innovation has arrived to simplify online payments. This is the Payment Transaction Initiator (ITP), launched by the Central Bank in Phase 3 of the implementation of Open Finance. Essentially, the service further streamlines the shopping experience, helping to reduce abandonment rates. But do you know exactly how the ITP works? Find out below.
Essentially, ITP allows a payment to be initiated more quickly, making transactions such as Pix even more convenient. With the Payment Initiator, users can make online transactions from a single channel, even if the funds to be used are held at another financial institution.
The main goal of ITP is to simplify the payment process for the customer by enabling Pix transfers without the user going outside the payment screen and accessing banking applications. To achieve this, the tool facilitates communication between different financial institutions and initiates the transaction directly between the paying and receiving accounts.
Consumers also have the freedom to choose which company they trust to initiate their payments. This means that the ITP company does not necessarily have to hold the customer's account, i.e. the institution from which the purchase money will come.
Thanks to Open Finance, the customer can create an ITP account wherever they want and then select their bank or fintech to share data with. Finally, they simply access the environment of the chosen institution and confirm this authorisation.
Once ITP is enabled, online purchases now require only three steps:
As we have seen, the Pix user experience becomes even more convenient and intuitive with the Payment Initiator. The user no longer has to copy and paste codes, open banking applications, read QR codes or insert any other codes. When purchasing with ITP, the user can simply choose which financial institution to use to make the payment – all on the payment page itself, transparently and securely, without having to navigate between websites or apps.
At the moment, ITP offers instant payments, but its potential goes beyond that. In fact, the Central Bank has a roadmap that foresees new functionalities as early as 2024, including recurring and/or batch payments through the Payment Initiator.
In a dynamic sector such as finance, these innovations represent significant progress for digital payments. Not only do they offer greater convenience for users, but they also drive innovation and competitiveness among financial institutions. For those selling services or products online, ITP thus becomes a strategic partner for increasing sales.
