Understand Payments

Okra offers a streamlined payments solution that focuses on user experience and security. Okra's solution requires user consent: your customers enter their banking credentials and authorise payments. This enables Okra to instantly authenticate their account, leveraging the security measures that the users' banks have in place and simplifying the payment process.

Okra provides libraries and SDKs to help you integrate the Okra app on both web and mobile platforms. Integration is easy and flexible - you can enhance each payment by adding account data, enabling you to access balance or transaction details alongside the payment process. This approach is built on the principles of open finance, offering third-party providers access to up-to-date financial data through the Okra API.

How it works

Okra's Payments solution has 2 key features: payment authorisation and payment initiation.

Payment authorisation

This feature helps you obtain payment authorisation from your customers as part of the onboarding process. Okra's Payments solution enables you to request and obtain user consent to authorise payments directly from their bank accounts.

Payment initiation

With this feature you can use your customers' payment authorisation to initiate a one-time instant payment. You can also use an authorisation for multiple transactions, without the need to repeatedly ask for permission.

Example user journey

Let's say that you embed the Okra app in your neobank application. A customer using your app wants to add funds to their wallet. When you onboard this user in your app, you can take them though the Okra app to connect their bank account to and authorise payments. You can enable them to make an initial top-up in the same onboarding flow, and even allow them to set the top-up amount themselves. Afterwards, any time they need to top up their wallet in your app, they won't have to go through the authorisation process again, since they've already authorised payments during their onboarding. Future top-up transactions can then be initiated and processed quickly and securely.

Payment flows

For both for payment authorisation and initiation, your users can go through the Okra app. You can embed this app in your product's workflow. The Okra app can be customized to match your brand, carry your logo and blend seamlessly with your existing user interface. This integration leverages Okra's API and enables you to connect your customers’ bank accounts to your app, receive payment authorisation form them, and initiate bank payments in an instant.

You can initiate 3 different authorisation and payment flows. Check out each flow visualized in the Okra app reference, and understand each scenario:

Instant payments

In this flow you can accept one-time instant payments from your users. Your users can look up their banks and log into their accounts using their actual bank credentials. Once they are authenticated, they select the account they want to connect, confirm the payment amount, and then verify the payment. Payment verification can use PIN, OTP, or any other method that the bank requires, including all common types of MFA. When the payment is verified, your users' account is debited and you receive the funds.

Quick pay and returning users

Returning users are customers who already provided a payment authorisation. You can configure the Okra app to identify these users based on their account information. The returning users' journey in the Okra app is simplifed to only 2 steps; selecting an account, and verifying a payment. They do not need to re-enter their bank credentials, and only need to provide a One Time Password (OTP) or a transaction PIN to verify the payment, enabling you to receive the funds. This creates a fast and seamless payment experience for your users.

Check out the Returning user experience for more details.

Payments through the Okra API

Payments through the Okra API is a poweful, yet simple way to debit your customers' accounts programmatically. This payment flow does not need any engagement from your users, as it utilizes the authorisation that they already gave.

Example use cases

Instant payments

• Checkout in a shopping app: embedding the Okra app in the payments process creates a smooth, secure, and efficient checkout experience. Use it to increase conversions, reduce cart abandonment, and improve customer satisfaction.

• Wallet top-up in an e-commerce platform: the Okra app is a simple way for users to fund their digital wallets with you. Combined with our Account data products, you can onboard users and obtain the necessary authorisation for users to fund their accounts in a single click.

API payments

• Automatic wallet top-ups: set up automatic payment initiation for your users based on their wallet balances. Give your users the option to automatically top up their wallets if their balances hit a certain threshold.

• Collections: use API payments to programmatically debit your users' connected accounts. Schedule collections on a recurring basis to facilitate faster payment of loans, bills, or even subscription fees.

Next steps

Once you understand Okra's Payments solution and know how the available flows fit into your application, check out the integration guide specifically for setting up Payments.

If you are unsure how Payments can fit into your app or workflow, reach out to Okra! Our sales teams is ready to support you.