CEC Bank becomes the first bank in Romania to allow the initiation of payments through Open-Banking

CEC Bank’s Mobile Banking app allows payment initiation from accounts opened at other banks.

CEC Bank moves to the next level in open-banking and launches initiation of payments from accounts at other banks through its Mobile Banking application.

„CEC Bank is the first bank in Romania to allow the initiation of payments through Open-Banking. In a first phase the service being available for customers with accounts at Banca Transilvania, Raiffeisen Bank and ING Romania, with other banks soon to be added„,  said Mugur Podaru, Director of Remote Operations at CEC Bank.

The new feature was implemented with support from Finqware– a Romanian start-up specializing in  integration and open-banking applications and Asseco SEE, the developer of the Mobile Banking application.

„This launch marks an important step forward in the local banking industry, in terms of innovation. We are very proud that CEC Bank, an institution with tradition, shows courage and vision and becomes the first bank in the country to launch this payment initiation service. This makes Romania  one of the first markets in the region to have this service regulated by PSD2, available from banking institutions,. We are very pleased that the technology used in this implementation is Finqware’s payment platform, in line with our company’s aspiration to be regional leaders in the new open-banking industry,”said  Cosmin Cosma, CEO Finqware.

„It is the first implementation of such a functionality for Asseco SEE in Romania, in the entire portfolio of internet and mobile banking solutions used by customers in the banking system throughout the region. The project was an ambitious one, and the results begin to be visible. We have relied on close collaboration between all parties involved and we are pleased to have found in CEC Bank  a strategic partner in an ambitious innovation project. The integration of banking services for  customers is the beginning of a new type of financial services that based on technology embeded in banking applications„, said Andrei Berghian, Account manager Banking Unit Asseco SEE.

The new functionality in the Mobile Banking app comes just three months after CEC Bank launched the first Open-Banking feature: viewing accounts and transactions from other banks and financial institutions.

CEC Bank’s Mobile Banking app saw a doubling of the number of users and an increase of more than 110% in the number of transactions in 2020.

Listen NOCASH at RadioDA.ro, on June 29, from 12.30, to find out more about CEC Bank’s digital journey. Our guest will be Mugur Podaru himself, the Director of Remote Operations at CEC Bank.

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Currently, CEC Bank’s Mobile Banking app offers some of the most advanced features on the market:

. Instant payments and Alias Pay (phone number payments) to recipients with bank accounts who have joined the Transfond service

. Integration with ghiseul.ro for viewing and paying taxes, taxes and fines

. Payment of road tolls

. Possibility to feed the accounts of CEC Bank, through Intercont Transfer, with amounts from cards issued by other banks

. View credit situation and pay rates

. Possibility to change trading limits and card settings

. Possibility to biometrically authorise online card payments

. Basic features such as viewing balances, making payments and transfers in lei and currency, opening accounts and deposits, and feeding savings accounts.

CEC Bank is the financial institution with the longest tradition in Romania. Founded in 1864, CEC Bank currently has the largest national network, with more than 1,000 branches and territorial units and assets of over 41.25 billion lei at the end of 2020. The Romanian State, through the Ministry of Public Finance, is the sole shareholder of CEC Bank.