This was announced more than a month ago, so it’s a bit old, but I haven’t seen anyone else write about it, so it’s definitely better late than never.
ABN Amro is a giant bank, based in The Netherlands, that has operations around the world and used to have a much larger presence in the United States. The bank announced in late June that it would now start sending and accepting payments via contacts on WhatsApp, a cross-platform messaging app that allows people to communicate with each other without using SMS or text messages.
Using an ABN Amro app, called Tikkie, customers of the bank can send and receive money requests through WhatsApp. From ABN Amro:
Tikkie works very simply. The requester enters the amount in Tikkie and then selects a person from their WhatsApp contacts from whom they wish to receive payment. Tikkie creates a link that can be sent with a WhatsApp message. With just one click on the link, the person who receives the message is directed to the iDEAL payment environment. A unique feature of Tikkie is that the user does not need to create a new online bank account or separate e-wallet in order to receive payments. The money is automatically credited to their existing current account.
Collection agencies have announced in the past that they would accept payments via BitCoin and some other alternative payment channels are becoming more popular. The industry has looked at instant payment portals like Apple Pay and wondered how the technology might be applied in the collections world. Technology and integrations like this one with ABN Amro may be an opportunity or provide some inspiration for the next wave in technology innovations in collections.
