Belgian companies are becoming increasingly digitalised. The key aims behind the digital transformation: to respond to the needs of customers more quickly and to be available 24/7.
Digital applications are especially suited to achieving these goals as they allow corporate leaders to increase their companies' efficiency while placing greater focus on profitability.
PSD2 and invoicing: a mismatch?
Monitoring payments is a top priority for many companies. This reconciliation process calls for a lot of manual work, especially given that account information cannot be retrieved without first logging in to a banking application.
This is the reason why the Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) recently came into effect. This guideline states that banks are obligated to open up customer payment accounts (usually current accounts) that are accessible online as well as information about these accounts to recognised third parties. This allows companies (not just banks) to manage payments for customers, check the balance of their account, and retrieve account information.
Still no access to account information through PSD2
Is this a solution for companies to independently request account information via API? No. At present, PSD2-based solutions for companies in the market only provide recognised third parties with access to account information. To be able to take advantage of PSD2-related services, it is essential to have the right licence from the National Bank of Belgium. KBC is therefore entitled to provide PSD2-related services exclusively to parties that have this licence.
Of course, just as private individuals can now add accounts from other banks to the same mobile app, companies can do the same. For example, an accounting suite can request the necessary licences and integrate the PSD2 AI (account information) API offered by KBC.
In other words, PSD2 is not yet a solution for companies that wish to automate their invoicing process. Of course, KBC has other solutions to this issue, including Codabox and Billit – depending on requirements. Get in touch with your KBC branch if you would like to find out more.
Would you like to know more about our integration options?
You will find an overview of the various business solutions and technical integrations on the KBC Developer Portal.