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ITP

🔍 What is a Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP)?

A Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) – or ITP as it’s known in Brazil (Iniciador de Transação de Pagamento) – is a regulated entity authorized to initiate payment transactions on behalf of users, based on their consent.

Essentially, PISPs act as a bridge between the customer and their financial institution, allowing companies such as payment processors, acquirers, e-commerces, marketplaces, and delivery apps to start a payment directly from the user’s account, without handling the money themselves.

🧩 How Does It Work?

Once approved by the Central Bank (in Brazil) or equivalent regulatory body, a PISP gains the ability to:

  • Connect directly with users’ financial institutions.
  • Initiate transactions on behalf of the user, without needing access to their login credentials.
  • Ensure that funds are transferred directly from payer to payee.
  • Everything only happens if the user explicitly consents to the action.

📦 Real-World Use Cases

Here are some everyday scenarios where a PISP might operate:

  • 💬 Messaging App Payments

    Imagine a messaging app that’s certified as a PISP (like WhatsApp Pay). You’ve previously linked your debit card or bank account to the app. If you want to send money to a friend, you simply enter the amount and authorize the app to complete the transfer on your behalf.

  • 🍔 Food Delivery App

    Rather than entering credit card details into the delivery app, the app itself can initiate a payment directly from your bank account. After placing your order, the app instructs your bank to transfer the payment amount directly to the restaurant’s account.

  • 🔐 Key Highlights

    • ✅ User consent is mandatory for every transaction.
    • 🔁 PISPs only initiate transactions – they do not hold money.
    • 🚫 No need for traditional intermediaries like card processors or POS machines.
    • 🏦 Transactions flow directly from the user's account to the recipient.

⚠️ Some important information:

  • The amount in the transactions will always be in cents, so 100 cents = 1 BRL.
  • There's a maximum amount of 1.99 BRL (199 cents) when testing our API.
  • The link is only for one use and expires at 5 minutes.
  • For specific information on the parameters, access the ITP object page.