Pay by Bank – Payment Initiation (PIS)

1. Operation

The Payment Initiation Service (PIS) allows your customers to make a bank transfer directly from their online banking environment, without having to manually enter the recipient’s details. This feature is based on the Open Banking protocol and complies with PSD2.

At CentralPay, this service is offered under the name “Pay by Bank” and is currently available only through the hosted payment form (SmartForm) when using the PaymentRequest service.

ℹ️ This service is available only through the Smart Form (PaymentRequest). It is not yet possible to use this payment method as the sole option; it is always offered in addition to the traditional bank transfer payment service. The payment experience depends on the interfaces provided by the paying customer’s bank.  

2. Service activation

Payment initiation is not enabled by default. To use this feature, you must submit a request to the CentralPay support team.

3. Use via PaymentRequest

To allow your customers to initiate a transfer directly from the payment form, you must:

1. Create a PaymentRequest following the usual procedure.
2. Include the following payment method in the `payment_methods` property:
   • PIS Standard `“payment_methods”`: [“SCT_TRANSACTION_PIS”]
   • PIS IP `“payment_methods”`: [“SCT_TRANSACTION_PIS_IP”]

When this payment method is available, the Smart Form will offer the user a choice between:

• Standard bank transfer (bank account information displayed for you to copy)
• Initiating a payment through one’s banking system (Pay by Bank)

ℹ️ At this stage, it is not possible to require the exclusive use of the payment initiation feature. The form will always display the option to enter standard bank account information. 

4. User journey

1. The user selects “Pay by Bank” on the form. The user selects “Pay by Bank” on the form.
2. He selects his bank from the list provided
3. He is redirected to his bank’s website to confirm the transfer
4. Once the payment is initiated, the user is redirected to your return page

5. Monitoring and status reports

Once the PaymentRequest has been created, the status of the transfer is available via the API, just as with any other payment:

• The payment_method field will be set to SCT_TRANSACTION
• The “status” field will indicate the progress of the payment initiation (for example, PENDING, SUCCEEDED, FAILED)

ℹ️ As with traditional transfers, the completion of the payment depends on the customer’s bank actually processing the transfer. The customer can choose between a standard transfer (D+1) and an immediate transfer. 

6. List of available banks by country

ℹ️ In the staging environment, a bank named “Test Connector” is displayed to allow you to test the end-to-end flow. Please note: The maximum amount allowed on this test connector is €20. 

French banks:

Institution	Standard	Snapshot
Allianz Bank	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
Arkéa Banking Services	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
Arkéa Bank for Businesses and Institutions	✅ Available	✅ Available
Arkéa Private Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
AXA Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
BCP Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
Chalus Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
Bank of Savoy	✅ Available	✅ Available
Bank of Territoires	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
Crédit Mutuel European Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
Banque Populaire	✅ Available	✅ Available
Transatlantic Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
BBVA (Not activated)	🚫 Not available	🚫 Not available
BforBank	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
BNP Paribas	✅ Available	✅ Available
BNP Paribas Business	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
BNP Paribas New Caledonia (Not activated)	🚫 Not available	🚫 Not available
BoursoBank	✅ Available	✅ Available
BRED	✅ Available	✅ Available
BTP Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
Caisse d’Épargne – Personal Banking	✅ Available	✅ Available
Caisse d’Épargne for Professionals	✅ Available	✅ Available
CCMDirect (Not activated)	🚫 Not available	🚫 Not available
CIC	✅ Available	✅ Available
CIC Private Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
Crédit Agricole	✅ Available	✅ Available
Crédit Coopératif	✅ Available	✅ Available
Crédit Maritime	✅ Available	✅ Available
Crédit Mutuel	✅ Available	✅ Available
Crédit Mutuel of Bretagne	✅ Available	✅ Available
Crédit Mutuel of Southwest	✅ Available	✅ Available
Fortuneo	✅ Available	✅ Available
Hello bank!	✅ Available	✅ Available
ING Wholesale Banking	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
La Banque Postale	✅ Available	✅ Available
LCL	✅ Available	✅ Available
Louvre Private Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
Manager.one	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
Memo Bank	✅ Available	✅ Available
Monabanq	✅ Available	✅ Available
N26	✅ Available	✅ Available
Nef Pro	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
Neuflize OBC (Non activé)	🚫 Not available	🚫 Not available
Palatine	✅ Available	✅ Available
Qonto	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
Revolut	✅ Available	🚫 Not available
Société Générale	✅ Available	✅ Available