The King of Casino reaching new heights in the world of payment solutions

LeoVegas is setting a benchmark for the rest of the gaming industry and is ready to offer additional secure and faster payments for customers directly from their own bank accounts as well as lower transaction costs and a reduced dependence on other payment service providers

Michael Saliba sits down with Hans Uhrus the Communication Director for LeoVegas, to discuss their drive behind such an innovation and what it may mean to the industry and its players.

LeoVegas will be first out in the gaming industry to allow open banking transactions under PSD2 via the company’s proprietary technical platform.

Gustaf Hagman, Group CEO, outlined the importance in providing secure, seamless and fast payments whilst also highlighting the fact that the Second European Payment Services Directive permits a direct integration with several European Banks. Which in turn offers a superior level of customer experience in direct relation to security and speed.

“Conducting transactions via open banking is also considerably more cost-effective compared with traditional payment methods. There is a high level of activity in our product and technology development organisation, and it is exciting to see all of the innovations we are delivering to our customers. We are first out in the industry with this pioneering payment solution, which will change the entire payments industry in the years ahead.”

Additionally, The UK is the first market in which LeoVegas has already launched payments via open banking. Customer data from the initial weeks show that 10% of all new customers already are choosing to initiate their payments via open banking.

What will this mean for LeoVegas?

Saving potential is huge compared to today’s banking solutions cost, but we plan to also convert a share of the eWallet users to this solution to further address the cost structure.

As being the king of casino we always want to be at the forefront of evolution. We are an early adopter of PSD2 open banking technology in the industry. But we have even taken it a step further. While other operators are working with PSD2 for pay-ins, we – together with our partners have successfully built a solution for the full journey of fast pay-ins and pay-outs.

What does this mean for your players?

Connecting to Player’s bank accounts for pay-ins and pay-outs based on latest banking schemes and through open banking APIs provides direct access to winnings to spend them on whatever our customers desire as well as no waiting time for pay-ins and immediate entertainment.

iGaming is to a large extent a trust business and secure transfers of funds is crucial.

The Strong Customer Authentication features, which are also part of PSD2 come with strong measures to protect customers and their funds compared to a lot of other solutions.

Besides the cost affective advantage of offering open banking transactions to your customers, what were the other main drivers towards such a payment solution?

LeoVegas always thrives for being an operator that leverages technology innovation as a competitive advantage. We want to be at the forefront of new opportunities and try out new technology as much as possible.

Why was the UK market chosen to be the first to roll-out such a service? any specific market advantages?

Main reason is that UK banks are a bit further ahead regards the implementation of Open Banking APIs as well as coverage of fast banking schemes. While European banks have not all adopted SEPA instant, UK banks have coverage on Faster Payments, the UK instant banking scheme.

What are the risks you envision in terms of future regulations?

All new technology and implementation encounters the risk of regulation potentially restricting its use. However, since LeoVegas is always investing in compliance and local licenses, the leverage of this opportunity should be very significant despite regulatory restrictions.

Other than offering fast pay-outs. What other advantages are there in terms of player protection and a better service?

Apart from the speed and security, one major advantage is that Players do not need anything further to what they already have: their bank account. They don’t have to sign up for a eWallet or anything else. Winnings are immediately available for further spending in their accounts.