A NEW MOBILE payment service designed to make sending money between bank accounts easier (essentially a rival of Revolut) is beginning to roll out to Irish banking customers this week.

The service, called Zippay, is being launched by AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB and will appear within the banks’ existing mobile banking apps on a phased basis from tomorrow.

Once available, customers will be able to send, request and split payments instantly using the mobile number of contacts who are also using the service.

The initiative has the potential to reach more than five million customer accounts across the three banks.

Zippay will allow users to send up to €1,000 per day and request up to €500 per transaction, according to the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

The system works through a user’s existing banking app, meaning customers will not need to download a separate payment app or manually set up new payees using IBAN or account numbers.

Instead, the service links to mobile numbers saved in a customer’s contact list to identify who else is using Zippay.

Brian Hayes, chief executive of BPFI, said eligible customers will begin to see the feature appear automatically in their apps as the rollout begins.

“Zippay will provide a quick and easy way to send and receive money or split payments or bills with friends, family and contacts who are also Zippay users,” Hayes said.

Plans for the service were first announced in 2022 and the Zippay app’s rollout was confirmed in September last year as the banks looked to offer an alternative to popular money-transfer apps such as Revolut, which now has more than three million users in Ireland.

The service is being delivered by European payments technology company Nexi, which has previously partnered with Irish financial institutions on digital payment systems.

Following the initial launch this week, Zippay will also be made available to other financial institutions in Ireland that provide IBAN account services and a mobile banking app.

Eligible customers will receive information from their bank by email or in-app notifications as the rollout continues.