What is Zippay and what do we think about it?

Exploring Ireland’s new account-to-account payment initiative, how it fits into global trends, and what it could mean for consumers, businesses, and payment innovators like Fire.

Why Zippay matters right now

Ireland’s payments landscape continues to move steadily towards digital payments. Consumers and businesses increasingly expect payments that are fast, require minimal user input, and reduce fraud. Meeting these expectations depends on strong industry collaboration. Against this backdrop, the planned launch of Zippay represents a positive step forward for the Irish payments ecosystem.

As Ireland’s first nationwide person‑to‑person (P2P) payment initiative between the country’s major retail banks, AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB, Zippay highlights the sector’s ability to collaborate on a shared service. It aims to address some of the long‑standing friction associated with account‑based payments, while laying the groundwork for a secure, trusted, and more seamless payment experience.

As a leader in account‑to‑account (A2A) payments, Fire is closely monitoring this development. This article outlines what Zippay is, how it works, and its place within the broader evolution of digital, account‑based payments in Ireland, in line with the ambitions of the National Payments Strategy.

What is Zippay?

Zippay is an Irish person-to-person (P2P), account-based payment method that allows consumers to send money to another person using only their mobile number. This type of account-based payment removes the need to share traditional account details, such as an IBAN or card number.

Set to launch in early 2026, Zippay will enable users to send, request, or split payments directly through the existing apps of participating institutions. Similar to initiatives such as Bizum and Wero, users can make payments to someone in their phone contacts without needing to request or enter their account details. The payer and recipient do not need to be with the same bank or payment institution; they only need an account with a participating institution, a verified mobile number, and to be enrolled in the service.

Zippay is a collaborative initiative by AIB, Bank of Ireland, and Permanent TSB, delivered by European PayTech Nexi. It provides a faster, more convenient, and highly secure account-to-account (A2A) payment option that operates directly within trusted banking apps, giving consumers and businesses a seamless way to send, request, or split payments using just a mobile number.

Understanding account-based payments

The emergence of Zippay reflects the growing adoption of account-based, or A2A payments, a key objective of the National Payments Strategy (NPS).

Zippay transfers are conducted directly between current accounts, without the involvement of intermediaries such as debit or credit cards. The most widely recognised example of this type of payment in Ireland is the traditional bank transfer.

Innovation, driven by open banking payments and the availability of instant payment rails, is making A2A payments faster and more versatile.

Account-based payments offer clear advantages over alternatives that rely on intermediaries, which can add cost and friction. Digital innovation enables consumers and businesses to access these benefits. Zippay is a clear example. Fire has long supported the growth of account-based payments, our open banking solutions offer an account-based collection method, which can be paired with automated payouts to create a seamless, closed-loop payment solution.

The National Payments Strategy

The National Payments Strategy (NPS), published by the Department of Finance in 2024, sets out the goal to “enhance the effectiveness of the payments system and to continue to build public trust in it.” One element of the strategy is addressing the gap in the Irish market for A2A payments, expanding consumer choice and reducing the costs associated with payment methods that rely on intermediaries such as debit or credit cards.

A core objective of the NPS is therefore to provide a convenient, simple A2A alternative to cash and cards for P2P transactions. In this context, Zippay directly supports these objectives by offering a user-friendly account-based payment solution that complements existing cash and card options.

While the strategy’s actions and focus areas primarily emphasise awareness and open banking, the launch of a high-profile, easy-to-use P2P service by the major domestic banks demonstrates a tangible commitment to delivering on these goals.

Global perspectives on lessons from other markets

Similar initiatives in other European countries, where banks and payment institutions have collaborated to introduce A2A payments using a mobile number, have achieved success not only in P2P payments but also in other use cases such as e-commerce. Understanding these examples helps contextualise what Zippay is and its potential in the Irish market.

For example, Bizum, a Spanish initiative that enables payments using a mobile number across Spain and Andorra and has ambitions to expand to Portugal and Italy, has been highly successful in Spain. Its adoption has had a knock-on effect on the broader uptake of instant credit transfers in the country, which now sees more than three times the level of instant payments compared with the EU average. Bizum has also expanded beyond P2P payments into e-commerce, allowing online retailers to integrate a payment method that enables customers to pay simply by entering their mobile number and approving the transaction through their bank’s mobile app.

Wero, a platform offering payment interoperability across France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, has over 43 million users. It also plans to expand beyond P2P payments into e-commerce, m-commerce, and eventually in-store point-of-sale (POS) and subscription payments.

What Zippay gets right and what comes next

The collaboration between Ireland’s major banks to advance account-based payments through digital innovation represents a positive step for the payments ecosystem, while also highlighting opportunities for further development.

1. Open the scheme to all payment service providers

Zippay has the potential to evolve further by opening access to non-bank payment service providers, offering consumers a wider range of payment options. According to Renato Martini, Digital Banking Solutions Director at Nexi Group, “after the initial launch, Zippay will be offered on a non-discriminatory basis to all financial institutions that provide IBAN account services and a mobile app to Irish consumers.”

2. Expansion into B2C and B2B use cases

Expanding Zippay to cover business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) payments could unlock higher-value transactions and a broader range of use cases, such as supplier payments, payroll, and invoice settlement.

Potential B2C functionality could include e-commerce payments, donations, subscriptions, and in-store point-of-sale (POS) payments. These use cases would address practical challenges for merchants, providing consumers with greater choice while reducing the costs associated with card payments.

Effective use cases for an A2A service like Zippay include:

• E-commerce and m-commerce payments – providing a high-conversion, lower-cost alternative to cards at checkout.
• POS payments – offering an efficient, low-cost option for in-store transactions.
• B2B and supplier payments – enabling higher-value, instant transfers for payroll, invoice settlement, and supplier payments.

Addressing practical challenges for merchants, such as expanding consumer choice and reducing the costs associated with card acceptance, will be key to driving the next phase of Zippay’s adoption.

A positive signal for Ireland’s payment ecosystem

What is Zippay in the broader context? At Fire, we view it as a welcome and highly visible initiative that demonstrates a collaborative step forward in modernising Ireland’s payment infrastructure.

The development reinforces Fire’s long-standing view that open, account-based payments will drive innovation across the payments landscape. If Ireland builds effectively on this foundation, allowing the service to evolve and extend to the wider ecosystem, it could enable faster, more inclusive, and more cost-efficient payment flows for both consumers and businesses.

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At Fire, we help businesses navigate account-to-account payments. Regulated in both the UK and Ireland, we offer A2A payment solutions alongside a broad range of innovative payment services. Looking to explore seamless, API-driven payments and discover how solutions like Zippay can benefit your business? Contact our sales team for personalised guidance.