Ordo

Ordo operates within the financial technology sector, specifically focusing on Open Banking payments. The company provides a managed Payments-as-a-Service platform designed to offer businesses an alternative to traditional card payment systems. Its core service facilitates direct, real-time payments from a customer's bank account to a business's account, aiming to reduce transaction costs and settlement times.

The company was established in 2018 by the former management team of the UK's Faster Payments Scheme. This team, which includes CEO Craig Tillotson, Fliss Berridge, and Mike Banyard, leveraged its deep experience in national payment infrastructures to build Ordo. Their background in developing and running the UK's real-time payments system provided the foundational expertise for creating a service that utilizes Open Banking architecture to challenge established payment methods like cards and Direct Debits. The venture is backed by private investors, along with strategic investments from Nationwide Building Society Ventures and the global IT services firm CGI.

Ordo's service portfolio is accessible to businesses through several channels. Companies can integrate the service via Ordo's payment partners, such as Pay360, or directly through its APIs. For smaller to medium-sized enterprises, Ordo offers integrations with accounting software platforms like QuickBooks, Sage, and Xero. The platform supports a variety of payment scenarios, including e-commerce checkouts, QR code-based point-of-sale transactions, and payments for invoices. It also handles single and recurring payments, refunds, secure customer pay-outs, and account validation services.

A key feature of Ordo's offering is its white-label capability. This allows businesses to incorporate their own branding into the payment journey, maintaining a consistent customer experience without the need to build and maintain their own Open Banking interfaces. The service also includes Variable Recurring Payments (VRP), initially for 'sweeping'—the automated movement of funds between a customer's own accounts. Ordo is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a Payments Institution, permitting it to provide both Account Information Services and Payment Initiation Services.

Keywords: Open Banking, Payments-as-a-Service, FinTech, Request to Pay, real-time payments, payment initiation, VRP, invoice payments, e-commerce payments, account validation