A SaaS founder once told us something that stuck. “Card settlements take three days. My customers expect everything instantly. Why should money move slower than data?”
That question is why Pay by Bank is taking off.
Real-time payments through PIS solve a problem that card networks never addressed. Settlement happens in seconds. Fees drop by 70% to 80% compared to cards. Chargebacks disappear because the customer authorises every transaction at their bank.
For SaaS platforms, this changes the economics of payments.
Here are four PIS providers built for platforms that need real-time payments at scale.
1. Finexer – Best for UK SaaS Platforms Needing One PIS Integration
Finexer is an open banking firm that holds FCA authorisation for both AIS and PIS. That means platforms get real-time payments and bank data access through a single API. The company was recently ranked #32 on Sifted’s 100 Fastest-Growing Startups in the UK & Ireland for 2026 and named a Finalist for Best Open Banking Initiative at the UK Fintech Awards 2026.
The payment initiation firm built its infrastructure on the UK Faster Payments Service. Settlement happens in near real-time. Platforms receive confirmation via webhook the moment the bank executes the payment.
What Finexer delivers:
- Real-time webhooks for instant payment confirmation and failure detection
- White-label consent flows, so the bank authentication step keeps your branding
- Bulk payout capability for platforms managing supplier or commission payments
- 99% UK bank coverage, including major institutions and challenger banks
The company is backed by SFC Capital and the British Business Bank. Verified customers span accounting, legal, payroll, property tech, and utility billing sectors.
Why this UK payment provider earns attention: One integration covers both collecting money and accessing transaction data. No separate providers for payments and reconciliation.
2. TrueLayer – Best for High-Volume Checkout Payments
TrueLayer is a PIS provider that partnered with ClearBank to build a closed-loop payment system. The results speak for themselves. Payment volumes have increased seven times since January 2023.
The setup works like this. ClearBank provides merchant accounts where funds are held. TrueLayer initiates the payment through open banking. When a refund or withdrawal happens, ClearBank pays out instantly to the same bank account that made the original transaction.
TrueLayer also partnered with Stripe to bring Pay by Bank to Finland in early 2026. The rollout followed successful launches in France, Germany, and the UK. Kustom merchants can now offer instant bank payments through TrueLayer’s technology running on Stripe’s infrastructure.
Why platforms choose TrueLayer: Proven at massive scale. The ClearBank partnership handles millions of pounds in transactions. The Stripe partnership opens distribution to thousands of merchants.
3. Token.io – Best for White-Label PIS Infrastructure
Token.io takes a different approach. This white-label PIS firm provides infrastructure that banks can brand as their own. BNP Paribas used Token.io to build Instanea, a fully branded merchant payment solution.
The technical architecture is bank-grade. Token.io supports single immediate payments, future-dated payments, bulk transfers, and standing orders. The platform handles the full PIS lifecycle from payment request creation to callback confirmation.
Token.io holds ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS accreditations. The company’s white-label capability means your customers never know Token.io exists behind the scenes.
Why platforms choose Token.io: Complete ownership of the payment experience. Your brand. Your consent screens. Token.io just runs the rails.
4. Brite Payments – Best for Instant Payouts and Chargeback Elimination
Brite Payments launched in 2019 from Stockholm. The instant payments company raised $60 million in October 2023, led by Dawn Capital. Today, Brite employs around 150 people with offices in Spain, Germany, Malta, and the United Kingdom.
What makes Brite different is the Instant Payments Network. Traditional open banking payments require the provider to wait for settlement confirmation. Brite takes full receipt of incoming funds and settles them rapidly on behalf of merchants. The network operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The company connects to more than 3,800 banks across 27 European markets, reaching over 350 million end consumers. Core markets see 95% coverage or higher.
What Brite delivers:
- Instant payouts from businesses to customers
- Elimination of chargebacks because customers authorise at their bank
- Single integration for collections and disbursements
Brite won two Retail Systems Awards in 2024 for Alternative Payments Solution and Payments Innovation. The company also picked up PayTech Awards 2024 recognition for Tech of the Future – A2A Payments.
Why platforms choose Brite: No chargeback risk. If the customer authorises, the money is yours. That alone changes the fraud calculation for many platforms.
Four Ways These Providers Handle Real-Time Payments Differently
Each provider takes a distinct path to real-time settlement.
Finexer uses the UK Faster Payments Service directly. Settlement confirmation arrives via webhook. The platform receives payment status in seconds, not days. White-label consent keeps your brand visible throughout the bank authentication step.
TrueLayer built on ClearBank’s merchant account infrastructure. Funds sit in virtual accounts with unique IBANs. When a payment comes in, TrueLayer can pay out instantly to the original bank account because ClearBank holds the funds and has direct Faster Payments access.
Token.io focuses on payment orchestration. The platform harmonises banking standards across multiple countries, so merchants never see the complexity. Smart routing picks the fastest payment rail available for each transaction.
Brite operates its own Instant Payments Network. Instead of waiting for settlement from each bank, Brite fronts the money and settles internally. Merchants get paid instantly. Brite manages the backend reconciliation.
Five Questions to Ask Any PIS Provider
Before choosing a payment initiation firm, get answers to these five things.
- Settlement timing. Ask for the actual deposit time, not the authorisation time. Some providers confirm the payment instantly, but hold your money for days.
- Bank coverage in your specific markets. A provider covering 3,000 banks across Europe might only cover forty percent of banks in your main country. Ask for the percentage in each market you serve.
- Webhook reliability. Payment confirmation drives your fulfilment workflow. Ask about uptime guarantees and average webhook latency.
- White-label options. Can you brand the consent screens? Does the redirect flow keep your domain visible, or does it switch to the provider’s URL?
- Payout capability. Can the same provider send money out as well as take money in? Platforms managing marketplace payments or affiliate commissions need both directions.
Conclusion
Real-time payments through PIS are not coming. They are already here.
The four providers above each solve a different piece of the puzzle. Finexer gives UK SaaS platforms a single API for collecting payments and accessing transaction data. TrueLayer handles high-volume checkout with proven partners like ClearBank and Stripe. Token.io lets platforms white-label the entire payment infrastructure. Brite eliminates chargebacks and delivers instant payouts.
There is no single best provider. There is only one provider that fits your specific payment flow. Do you need both payments and data from one API? Finexer. Are you processing millions in checkout volume? TrueLayer. Do you want your own branded payment solution? Token.io. Are chargebacks eating your margins? Brite.
Pick the one that solves your biggest payment headache today. The rest can wait.