Volt launches in Australia

Global real-time payments platform Volt has launched in Australia, where its gateway will be integrated with Australian digital payment platform PayTo.

Volt’s expansion beyond the UK, Europe and Brazil follows a $60 million Series B fundraise earlier this year.

The integration with PayTo will enable consumers to authorise and control payments directly from their bank account.

Self-service ticketing platform Megatix has become the first merchant in Australia to adopt Volt’s technology, meaning that its customers in the country will be able to select ‘Instant Bank Transfer’ as a payment option at checkout.

By implementing Volt’s real-time payments, Megatix vendors will bypass “costly” credit card fees and receive payments faster, while customers can pay more securely and quickly.

Volt CEO Tom Greenwood

“I am incredibly excited to finally introduce our technology to the Australian market and begin our journey into the APAC region,” said Tom Greenwood, chief executive officer and founder of Volt.

A recent report published by Cognizant revealed Australia is the second leading market in the adoption of new payments technology, behind China.

“Australia is fast becoming a key market for many global businesses and similarly to Brazil when we launched there, our introduction into this fast-growing market will be transformative to the payments space,” Greenwood said.

Volt also confirmed its intention to establish a physical presence in Australia, and will be making a number of hires to manage and grow the Australian market.

Roshan Odhavji, chief executive officer of Megatix, added: “With Volt’s industry leading real-time payment capabilities, we’re now able to offer our customers a slick checkout experience, and be the first in the market to do so.

“Thanks to Open Banking and Volt’s technology, we’re able to improve the payments process immeasurably for our customers, such as eliminating costly chargebacks associated with payments which have been a historic pain point for our vendors.”

In June, Volt revealed it will use the proceeds of its funding round to not only expand into APAC, but also the US.