ClearBank, the technology-enabled clearing bank, has entered into a strategic partnership with real-time money movement platform Volt to power a new generation of merchant account capabilities across the UK and Europe.
The collaboration will see ClearBank providing the banking infrastructure for Volt’s new GBP and EUR payment accounts. These accounts are designed for enterprise merchants and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) who utilise Volt’s real-time, bank-direct payment initiation services.
Enhancing the payment lifecycle
The partnership aims to address a critical gap in open banking by adding essential features often found in traditional card schemes but lacking in account-to-account (A2A) payments.
Through ClearBank’s cloud-native infrastructure, Volt will now offer virtual IBANs and named accounts that allow businesses to track every stage of the payment value chain. This includes automated reconciliation, user-level fund attribution, and full lifecycle management—specifically streamlining payouts and refunds.
By offering these capabilities, the companies claim to be moving open banking payments “a step closer to achieving feature parity with cards.”
Steffen Vollert, co-founder and CEO of Volt, commented: “We’re truly excited to be partnering with ClearBank on the evolution of our accounts capabilities. Meeting the complex money management and movement needs of merchants, at scale, is our joint ambition. Changing the game through innovation… ultimately unlocks the full potential of account-to-account payments; not only in Europe, but globally.”
Infrastructure for scale
For ClearBank, the deal represents another deployment of its embedded banking model, providing the regulated “plumbing” for fintech innovators.
John Salter, chief customer officer at ClearBank, added: “We’re proud to provide the trusted, cloud-native banking infrastructure that enables innovative providers like Volt to deliver new value to their customers… Together, we’re driving the future of financial services, setting new standards for innovation and reliability.”
The new capabilities will be available to Volt’s client base across the UK and Europe immediately, supporting the company’s expansion across its 30+ active markets.
