American Express and BR-DGE form Open Banking payments partnership

Payment orchestration provider BR-DGE has partnered with American Express to offer an Open Banking payment solution and “enhance” merchants’ Open Banking capabilities.

BR-DGE’s Partnership Program comprises more than 300 payment providers and technology solutions, helping merchants to “optimise” their payments stack, and benefit from payment orchestration.

American Express is collaborating to enable real-time Open Banking payments for BR-DGE’s work with travel and retail brands via its first-to-market payment solution ‘Pay with Bank Transfer’.

Online payment method Pay with Bank Transfer means payments are made instantly from the customer’s account.

BR-DGE’s platform, which is led by chief executive officer Thomas Gillan, provides merchants with a range of payment options via a single point of integration.

Charlotte Wise of American Express

Charlotte Wise, director, international Open Banking payments at American Express, said: “We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with BR-DGE, which brings together the established expertise of American Express, with the innovative technology of a dynamic fintech player, providing a seamless experience for merchants looking to integrate payment options for their customers.

“With the acceleration of Open Banking, collaboration within the payments ecosystem is vital in order to provide customers with the best possible experience.”

Tom Voaden, head of partnerships at BR-DGE, added: “As Open Banking increases as a payment method within the UK and Europe, American Express’ leading brand and proposition will help drive consumer confidence in the technology and greater adoption.

“By partnering with innovative payment and technology providers in the industry, such as American Express, we can offer a platform that enables our merchants to select the best payment solutions at speed and build a payment stack that supports their growth ambitions.”

Last year, Travel Counsellors and Kenwood Travel were among the merchants to join the platform.

Charlotte Wise is speaking at Open Banking Expo’s next Women in Open Banking meet-up on 23 May, in partnership with American Express. Find out what she’s going to be speaking about in this Q&A and if you’re a member of the initiative, register for the event here.