Payments company Stripe, in collaboration with TrueLayer, has revealed plans to launch ‘Pay by Bank’ payment option in France and Germany.  

The move represents the extension of the partnership, which began in the UK. 

The feature is designed to simplify the checkout process for businesses operating in France and Germany.  

It enables consumers to bypass the traditional entry of card details and authorise payments directly from their bank accounts, often using biometric methods such as fingerprint or facial recognition for authentication. 

Utilising TrueLayer’s open banking infrastructure, Stripe’s ‘Pay by Bank’ connects directly to bank accounts across Europe.  

Ryanair, which partnered with TrueLayer in December last year, is also implementing this payment option for their customers. 

TrueLayer Germany country manager Sebastian Vetter said: “Having seen the success of Stripe’s TrueLayer integration in other markets, we are thrilled to bring this innovative payment solution to Germany and France.  

“By leveraging TrueLayer’s open banking infrastructure, we’re enabling German and French businesses to accept payments directly from bank accounts, making transactions faster, safer, and more affordable.” 

Businesses can avoid card processing fees, which can lead to reduced transaction costs, the TrueLayer press release said. 

Payments are processed in real-time, and the method employs “secure, bank-approved” authentication protocols. 

TrueLayer processes €2bn in ‘Pay by Bank’ transactions annually in France and €1.4bn in Germany. 

The integration will be available to all Stripe users in France and Germany in the near future. 

Last month, Stripe reached an agreement to acquire Privy, a crypto wallet startup based in New York.  

Privy, established in 2021 by Henri Stern and Asta Li, specialises in providing developers with an API to create secure wallets, sign transactions, and integrate blockchain systems.