Inside Volt's Bold Launch of Merchant Accounts in UK and EU

Merchants and partners across the UK and EU are being given access to account-based solutions. 

This brings a full range of visibility to outgoing and incoming customer funds, plugging what Volt calls a ‘significant gap’ in the commercial viability of account-to-account payments in real-time. 

The newly-announced Volt Accounts are the end point for the settlement of payments powered by Volt’s Pay by Bank technology. 

GBP and EUR are monitored in the account from initiation to receipt, with updates at crucial moments of the payment value chain. Volt claims merchants will be able to dispatch goods or deliver services faster with greater certainty when payments are completed. 

Volt Accounts enables foreign exchange transactions despite supporting a single currency per account. 

Merchants in the UK that process real-time pay-ins from EU customers could move funds from their GBP Volt Accounts to their EUR Volt Accounts before shifting the funds to their standard business account. 

From there, merchants could use their preferred local currency at a time of their choice. 

Steffen Vollert, CEO at Volt, says: “Launching Volt Accounts, Named Accounts and Virtual IBANs is a key milestone in Volt’s history. 

“With our deep knowledge of our merchants’ and partners’ pain points, we’re positioned to develop treasury infrastructure aligned with the practical needs of global businesses – and wealthtech and crypto platforms in particular.

“With merchants already using our cash management solutions, across multiple jurisdictions, it’s clear that Volt has successfully matured into more than a payment initiation service provider. I believe this is what will stand us apart in the months and years ahead.”

Merchants will also be able to receive pay-ins and initiate pay-outs without having to wait for a Payment Service Provider (PSP)’s batch settlement. Volt will do this through its Named Accounts, that are linked with a PSP with a direct relationship to Volt. 

The Named Accounts also pose potential for marketplaces as merchants with individual stores can use the Named Account to receive and settle pay-ins that use marketplace platforms. 

Issued under Volt’s licence, Named Accounts can be issued to individual customers by merchants. This enables merchants to receive and settle pay-ins for individual sellers that are not yet established as business entities.

How is Volt providing greater merchant control? 

Volt’s Virtual International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) are designed for businesses receiving large capital such as deposits or top-ups. 

Each end user within a merchant’s Volt Account environment can be designated a Virtual IBAN by the merchant. This adds a layer of organisation for merchants to easily and instantly match pay-ins to specific customers. Reconciled funds are also available in real-time. 

Acting as identifiers only, Virtual IBANs point to a merchant’s Volt Account, unlike Named Accounts . 

In order to issue Named Accounts, Virtual IBANs and Volt Accounts, the company has leveraged its dual e-money licences. It received an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in the UK and holds a Payment Institution Licence in Poland. 

All interested parties are now able to open Volt Account and Virtual IBANs, as only select Volt merchants and partners have been given access since January 2025.