London-based account-to-account (A2A) payments provider Banked has entered the Australian market by acquiring local firm Waave. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded by industry experts, Waave leverages open banking to offer Australians a Pay by Bank alternative to traditional card payments. The acquisition follows Banked’s recent entry into Australia through a partnership with NAB and grants them access to one of the country’s largest retailers, Chemist Warehouse.
A2A payments have been gaining global traction, with systems like Pix in Brazil and UPI in India seeing widespread adoption. In Europe, the EPI’s Wero wallet is expected to boost Pay by Bank use, while Walmart prepares to introduce similar options in the U.S.
Brad Goodall, CEO of Banked, describes the acquisition of Waave as a significant step in their mission to expand their global payments network, emphasizing the importance of the Australian market for their growth strategy