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Modulr glossary

PISP (Payment Initiation Service Provider)

A Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) is a regulated third-party provider that initiates payments on behalf of a user, with the user's consent, directly from their account. PISPs operate under Open Banking regulations, offering an alternative to card payments. A Payment Initiation Service (PIS) is a third-party service that initiates payments on behalf of a user directly from their bank or EMI account. PIS operates under Open Banking regulations and provides an alternative to card payments. A PIS is a regulated financial service provided by Open Banking and authorised third-party providers (TPPs). It allows businesses or consumers to initiate direct payments from a payer's account to a payee, bypassing the traditional card networks entirely and often using near instant rails such as Faster Payments. Modulr provides Payment Initiation Services under Open Banking regulations, allowing businesses to initiate payments directly from customer accounts with lower transaction fees.

Applications

E-commerce:

Reduces fraud in online card payments by verifying the cardholder's identity

Banking and fintech:

Helps issuers and payment providers comply with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements.

Advantages

  • Enhanced security: Reduces unauthorised transactions by verifying that the genuine account holder is authorising the payment
  • Fraud prevention: Helps reduce chargebacks related to fraud.

Challenges

  • User Experience: Additional authentication steps can cause friction and increase checkout abandonment
  • Implementation complexity: Requires integration with card schemes and issuer systems.

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