Zippay

As far as I'm aware it's built on SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst), so just means you'll be able to instantly transfer to another account within those banks using a mobile number as the destination address. You won't need the IBAN.

There's a couple of pan-EU versions of the same already rolled out with some banks, and I don't know why the Irish banks didn't just join. Wero being the main one

https://wero-wallet.eu

I'm also not sure if Zippay can be added on to competing banks apps like Revolut, Bunq etc - I assume they'll have to be able to join.

The analysis of the Zippay service reveals three primary areas of concern regarding privacy, security, and regulatory compliance.

1. High-Risk "Opt-Out" Privacy Model: The most significant issue is the automatic, "opt-out" enrollment of all eligible customers. Without any action from the user, AIB will share sensitive personal and financial data—including full name, IBAN, mobile number, date of birth, and a summary of transaction history—with a third-party partner, Nexi. This approach is legally questionable under GDPR, as it contradicts the principle of "privacy by default" and relies on a weak justification of "legitimate interests" for a non-essential service. The burden is placed entirely on the customer to be aware of the service and take proactive steps to prevent their data from being shared.
2. Weak Transactional Security: The service has a significant security flaw in its method for verifying payees. When a user sends money, the system only provides a masked version of the recipient's name (e.g., "Joe Blo***") as confirmation. This is an ineffective defense against common Authorized Push Payment (APP) scams, where fraudsters trick victims into sending money to accounts they control. AIB's own warnings explicitly shift the liability for preventing such fraud onto the user, advising them to "double-check" the details, which highlights the inadequacy of the system's built-in protection.
3. Lack of Transparency and User Control: The service operates on a complex "Joint Controller" relationship between AIB, other banks, and Nexi, which can create an "accountability maze" for users trying to exercise their data rights. It is not made clear which specific legal entity within the global Nexi conglomerate is responsible for the data of Irish users. Furthermore, the service engages in unnecessary data processing by analyzing 90 days of a user's transaction history simply to suggest a default receiving account—a choice that could easily and with less intrusion be offered directly to the user.

My issue is not the mechanics of how it works. What concerns me is that it appears that information about my banking activity appears to have been shared with a third party without my approval.

I could be jumping the gun here, given that I have never used Zippay or been offerred an 'opt out'. But, if I don't yet have a main Zippay account, I'd have expected AIB to tell me so, instead of claiming that my main account is in another bank.

This is at least 5 years too late to gain and retain younger customers. I think revolut and the tools it has provided to its users, mostly around junior accounts has shaved a lot of the potential growth from the pillar banks. I think the only major consumer service not offered is mortgages and id be fairly certain that's not far away.

I don't know much about the risks of zippay over and above a lot of the existing services out there but I'd assume any losses will be covered somewhat by the banks in question in which case you'd assume plenty has been done in the background to secure it.

But Revolut has a huge penetration in the Irish market, especially among younger people. It's probably far in excess of what they've achieved in Switzerland. Which would suggest that Zippay is late to the game and will have problems establishing itself as the favoured method for P2P payments.

I think you forget that the vast amount of 25 year olds or younger only have one current account and it's via Revolut. At least one of their parents also has a Revolut current account and you'd be surprised to know that more and more people in in 30's and 40's are opting to use revolut for their salaries nowadays.
It's not just the simple method to transfer funds (that's a big one) but it's the other bits and pieces that revolut allows you to do very easily. Again, the only thing holding the pillar banks up in the age profile of their users and Mortgages (which is a significant market).

Again, I would say the same, Revolut is much much more feature heavy than anything any of the banks are doing!

I suppose this is a discussion forum and if we can't discuss bold predictions here, where can we?

Fair enough however, it's just my experience, I take that - no real hard data to base my predictions on.

All I see however is Revolut gaining significant market share and particularily with the younger cohort in the country.

As far as I am aware, it is available to any bank that wants to join.

I wished they would use the name Zip-Pay so people will call it by the proper name rather than one word that would be better placed naming on a pack of matches.

It should but I think it suits their business model better if they arent.

I would prefer each of the banks involved to have their own branding. Perhaps Zippay, Bungle and George.