Social payment app VibePay has officially had its first launch in the UK following approval by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in July.
Its first launch invited 1,000 members of the “Vibe Community” to test the app for the first time and these users will be able to leave feedback in the VibePay Community Forum.
VibePay is a payment initiation service (PIS), enabling secure direct-from-bank payments via open banking technology.
In the new consumer app, users can create groups for social events and share a unique payment link for friends to pay them back.
Luke Massie, CEO and founder of VibePay said: ‘The phenomenal support from the Vibe Community shows that we’re onto something great with VibePay.
“Their input has shaped the product we’re releasing today, and we’re excited to work closely with our users to make VibePay the best payments app out there. ’
The firm developed the app to help solve the issue of friends paying money back, with recent research revealing 1 in 4 Brits are owed money by their mates, and on average Brits are left £98 out of pocket.
VibePay has been built as an aggregation layer over the Open Banking APIs to create a bank-agnostic payment gateway.
Following the consumer app launch, VibePay for Business will launch later this year – allowing consumers to pay direct from their bank when they’re shopping online.
