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Ireland’s three largest retail banks are preparing to roll out a new person-to-person mobile payments service, Zippay, in early 2026 – a move aimed squarely at competing with digital challengers such as Revolut and N26.
Irish banks revive Zippay launch
AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB will embed Zippay directly into their existing mobile apps, giving their combined 5 million customers access to instant money transfers, payment requests, and bill-splitting functions.
The service will allow users to send up to €1,000 per day and request up to €500 per transaction. Transfers will be made by linking to contacts’ mobile phone numbers, eliminating the need for IBANs or account details.
The initiative marks a significant revival for Ireland’s banking sector.
It follows the collapse of Synch Payments, a joint venture conceived in 2020 with similar ambitions but derailed by regulatory hurdles, funding delays and the exits of Ulster Bank and KBC from the Irish market.
Despite €17 million of investment, Synch was wound up in 2023.
This time, the banks are betting on a simpler and more pragmatic integration strategy.
Rather than launching a standalone app, Zippay will be delivered inside the banks’ existing digital platforms.
That should avoid the competition law entanglements that dogged Synch, while ensuring instant traction among customers already accustomed to using their banks’ apps.
The technical backbone will again be supplied by Nexi, the Milan-based paytech that already operates similar services elsewhere in Europe.
Nexi has indicated that, following the launch, Zippay will be made available on a non-discriminatory basis to other financial institutions offering IBAN-linked accounts and mobile apps in Ireland. Talks are reportedly underway with several smaller providers.
Brian Hayes, chief executive of Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, described Zippay as a direct response to consumer demand for faster and more intuitive payments.
“Eligible customers will automatically be enrolled once the service is live. The experience will be seamless – payments will move between accounts in seconds,” he said.
The launch underscores how Ireland’s incumbent banks are under growing pressure to innovate as customer loyalties fragment.
Revolut, which entered the Irish market in 2015, has built a customer base of over 3 million and now holds a full banking licence. Its offering extends far beyond transfers into savings, lending, insurance and, imminently, mortgages.
Whether Zippay can slow Revolut’s momentum remains to be seen.
But its arrival finally promises Irish banking customers a home-grown, instant payments alternative – years after demand for such a service first emerged.
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