Deutsche Bank and Mastercard join forces in a partnership for Open Banking payment solutions
Deutsche Bank and Mastercard have formed a strategic partnership that will enhance the German bank's Merchant Solutions offering, specifically the Request to Pay (R2P) service. This collaboration positions both Deutsche Bank and Mastercard at the forefront of payment innovation in Europe.
The partnership will see Mastercard's advanced Open Banking Solutions™ fully integrated into Deutsche Bank's platform. Existing customers of Deutsche Bank's RTP will be smoothly transitioned to the new platform.
The collaboration aims to power merchant solutions with open banking payments, facilitating direct bank-to-merchant payments that are faster, potentially cheaper, and more secure than traditional card payments. This will offer consumers the ability to authorize payments directly from their bank accounts with real-time processing and immediate confirmation.
Deutsche Bank's global head of merchant solutions, Killian Thalhammer, stated that the partnership marks a pivotal moment in the growth of Open Banking. Valerie Nowak, executive vice president of Mastercard Open Banking Europe, has stated that the long-standing collaboration with Deutsche Bank showcases the power of partnerships in transforming how people and businesses interact with money.
The partnership supports the integration of open banking payments into merchant solutions, enabling seamless, secure, and innovative payment experiences across Europe. It also ensures regulatory resilience and compliance, as Deutsche Bank’s established banking infrastructure and Mastercard’s expertise help ensure that payment services comply with stringent European regulations.
Deutsche Bank’s ongoing initiatives, such as its card acquiring services using cloud-based platforms, showcase its commitment to modernizing payments for digital platforms across Europe. This partnership supports a trusted ecosystem for open banking payments aligned with European standards.
Mastercard's broader work with digital identity initiatives in Europe, including secure tokenization of payment credentials and integration into the upcoming European Digital Identity Wallets, aligns with Deutsche Bank’s open banking partnership by embedding payments into secure, privacy-respecting identity frameworks.
In summary, the Deutsche Bank–Mastercard collaboration advances open banking payments by combining technical innovation, regulatory compliance, and trusted identity frameworks, helping reshape the European payments landscape with more efficient, secure, and customer-friendly financial services. This partnership not only reinforces Deutsche Bank's role as a leading force in the payments landscape, but also positions Request to Pay (R2P) as a compelling alternative to card payments. The collaboration aims to accelerate the evolution of Open Banking, offering choice, efficiency, and innovation in payments solutions. The integration will support faster settlement, enhanced reconciliation, and greater payment transparency.
References: 1. Mastercard Newsroom (2021). Mastercard and Deutsche Bank to Accelerate Open Banking Payments in Europe. [Online] Available at: https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en/newsroom/press-releases/ 2. Fintech News CH (2021). Deutsche Bank Bolts Card Acquiring Services to Europe and UK. [Online] Available at: https://fintechnews.ch/payments/deutsche-bank-bolt-card-acquiring-europe-uk/77488/ 3. Mastercard Newsroom (2021). Building Trust for Europe’s Digital Future: How to Advance Digital Identity. [Online] Available at: https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en/perspectives/en/2025/building-trust-for-europe-s-digital-future-how-to-advance-digital-identity/ 4. NODA (2020). Open Banking in Germany: What Banks Need to Know. [Online] Available at: https://noda.live/articles/open-banking-in-germany
- This strategic partnership between Deutsche Bank and Mastercard is positioning both at the forefront of global payment innovation, particularly in Europe.
- The collaboration will integrate Mastercard's Open Banking Solutions™ into Deutsche Bank's platform, enhancing its Request to Pay (R2P) service.
- The partnership aims to power merchant solutions with open banking payments, offering faster, potentially cheaper, and more secure alternatives to traditional card payments.
- This will enable consumers the ability to authorize payments directly from their bank accounts with real-time processing and immediate confirmation.
- The integration also ensures regulatory resilience and compliance, as Deutsche Bank’s established banking infrastructure and Mastercard’s expertise help ensure payment services comply with European regulations.
- The partnership supports Deutsche Bank’s initiatives to modernize payments for digital platforms across Europe, aligning with Mastercard’s broader work on digital identity initiatives in Europe.
