Volt and Bumper partner to offer open banking

Real-time payments platform Volt is partnering with automotive fintech payment provider Bumper to offer open banking and real-time payments so consumers can pay for vehicle deposits, repairs, parts, services and purchase vehicles outright.

The partners said the current rebound in car sales is already being reflected in Volt and Bumper’s sales volume after dealerships started integrating Volt in January. More than £3 million in payments processed in the UK, with some customers using Volt to buy cars outright.

Volt supports Bumper’s ‘Pay Now’ function, allowing dealerships to receive instant settlement. The integration also allows checkout flow and pay-by-link options, providing a mobile-first experience, eliminates friction caused by slow settlement times and reduces the risk of non-payment or system errors.

The partnership brings open banking payments to customers of over 5,000 dealerships throughout the UK, including manufacturers, such as Audi, Ford, Porsche and Volkswagen.

Commenting, Richard Drury, VP of partnerships at Volt, said: “For car dealerships, the payments process has been a major challenge and our solution is a real asset in alleviating those challenges many dealership owners are facing today. We’ve created a perfect solution for Bumper, with the initial results and quick adoption proving that it resonates with both buyers and sellers. There’s huge potential for real-time payments to take off in the automotive industry, so this partnership was a no-brainer for Volt.”

Jack Allman, CCO and Co-founder at Bumper, added: "The move to Volt as Bumper's Open Banking payment provider will have a huge impact on functionality for our partnered dealerships and their customers, providing them with a frictionless account-to-account payment experience.

"This new partnership enhances our open banking infrastructure with increased functionality including settlement accounts, real-time notifications and refunds. These developments will increase operational efficiency and automation across all users, whether they work in accounts, sales or service. Additionally, Volt’s global payment network facilitates Bumper to roll out our Open Banking product across Europe in the near future. We're incredibly excited to have launched this next phase of our Open Banking platform and can't wait to see the increased value this new iteration will bring to our partners."

Having announced partnerships with Shopify and Worldpay last year, working with Bumper marks another step in Volt’s growth journey, which includes a successful Series B funding round and Australia expansion in 2023. Meanwhile, Bumper has started 2024 on a high, raising £40m in its own Series B funding round, fuelling plans to launch in more European countries this year.