Visa Brings Smarter Pay-by-Bank with Built-In Consumer Protections to the UK Market
Visa, a global leader in digital payments, is today announcing that its new pay-by-bank solution is ready for market in the UK. Built on Visa's decades of payments expertise, Visa A2A gives consumers greater choice, control and protection over how they pay via bank transfers. It is designed to make pay-by-bank transactions — including bill and subscription payments— safer and smarter.
Visa A2A introduces an easy and intuitive experience for consumers, allowing them to easily manage their bills and subscriptions through their bank app. For the first time in the UK, it also introduces Visa's best-in-class consumer protections to bank transfer transactions, including clear guidelines for consumers, businesses and banks on rights and responsibilities should things go wrong. This will effectively provide a similar level of protection typically associated with card payments, so consumers can get their money back if there is an error.
Visa A2A also benefits businesses, as near real-time settlement through Pay.UK's Faster Payment System gives them greater visibility over payments and makes cash flow management simpler. Businesses can take advantage of the digital nature of Visa A2A, including notifications if a consumer changes or cancels payment permissions, and it also provides them with the ability to include more transaction data for reconciliation.
Visa A2A is based on an open model that will enable banks and other industry partners to join and extend open banking-enabled payments to businesses. With a commercial model designed to work for all participants in the ecosystem and to boost the UK fintech community, Visa A2A will help to unlock the full potential of open banking in the UK. Research from Innovate Finance indicates that advancing the UK's FinTech ecosystem – a key partner in the development and delivery of Visa A2A – could unlock £328 billion over the next five years1.
Safer e-commerce
With an operational technology platform ready to process bills and subscriptions, Visa plans to expand Visa A2A, including e-commerce payments in the UK with a phased approach. This expansion means consumers choosing to use pay-by-bank across a variety of use cases, could benefit from similar levels of protection to those currently offered by card payments.
Visa A2A for e-commerce will offer a secure, hassle-free way to pay directly through bank accounts. Customers will be able to authorise this payment method once, then simply choose pay-by-bank at checkout for a one-click purchase experience that is fast, seamless and secure.
Mandy Lamb, Managing Director, Visa UK and Ireland, said: 'The UK has spearheaded innovation in financial services for many years, and in light of increasing fraud and international competition, we must continue to lead the way.
'We are proud to be working with our partners to deliver a state-of-the-art pay-by-bank experience, coupled with Visa's best-in-class consumer protections.
'Visa A2A is a game-changer – it means for the first time UK consumers and businesses using pay-by-bank will benefit from a similar level of protection typically associated with card payments.'
Isabel Pitt, Deputy Director of Payments, Nationwide Building Society, said: 'A2A payments are rapidly gaining traction across UK businesses and consumers, offering a seamless and efficient way to transact. However, for these payments to reach their full potential, the right framework – rules, capabilities, and protections – must be in place. That's why we're excited to collaborate with Visa and our industry partners to bring Visa A2A to the UK. This milestone innovation will enhance payment experiences and deliver greater security and convenience to Nationwide members.'
Delphine Emenyonu, Head of Unsecured Lending & Open Banking, TSB, said: 'We welcome the opportunity to collaborate on Visa A2A in the UK alongside Visa and other industry participants. As interest in A2A payments continues to grow among UK consumers and businesses, ensuring the right infrastructure, standards, and protections are in place will be key to supporting their future development. We look forward to seeing how this innovation can benefit TSB's customers.'
Matthieu Barral, VP, Global Partnerships, Checkout.com, said: 'Visa is changing how money moves with A2A payments, and Checkout.com is proud to be one of the first to bring this solution to merchants in the UK.'
'Together, we are giving merchants the latest option in market innovation, setting a new standard for speed, security, and payment performance.'
Ian Burgess, Managing Director, Utilita, said: 'We're excited to continue our long-standing relationship with Visa as we embark on the A2A journey. We are keen to provide choice for our customers and the evolution to A2A only reinforces our continued leadership in the prepayment energy sector. The reassurance that Visa A2A provides in terms of card-like protection to both the merchant and the consumer was a key factor in our decision to partner with Visa on this initiative and we can't wait to adopt this within both our credit and prepay payment journeys.'
Zak Lambert, Head of Product for Plaid Europe, said: 'This partnership brings together Visa's trusted rails and Plaid's open banking network to make paybybank as simple and secure as card on file. It's a new standard for how consumers and businesses move money—fast, protected, and ready to scale.'
Alexey Gabsatarov, Chief Technology Officer, Kroo, said: 'Kroo Bank welcomes Visa's new A2A solution, an important step forward for both open banking and account-to-account payments. We view it as an inclusive, industry-led model that prioritises consumer protection, confidence and usability. Visa has already demonstrated the benefits of applying its card scheme expertise to A2A payments, and we look forward to deepening our partnership to increase choice and strengthen trust for consumers, businesses and the wider banking community.'
Eline Blomme, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, Acquired.com, said: 'We are incredibly enthusiastic about the future of A2A payments with Visa and discussing this with our industry peers. The collective expertise in this space is instrumental as we work to bring Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) to the forefront of the UK market.'
'As a payments agnostic provider, powering recurring payments is at the heart of our business. Partnering with Visa A2A for VRPs represents a pivotal step forward in this area, unlocking unprecedented levels of security, flexibility and transparency for customers and offering a seamless alternative to traditional Direct Debit.'
Colin Swain, Head of Product, Corporate Solutions, Bottomline, said: 'As a global leader in business payments, Bottomline is excited to explore new opportunities that help shape the future of how businesses pay and get paid. With a strong track record of simplifying the collection of both single and recurring payments, Visa A2A complements the growing shift toward real-time and instant payment methods for recurring use cases.'
Myles Stephenson, CEO & Founder, Modulr, said: 'We're delighted to be part of the launch group of Visa A2A, working closely with Visa and other participants to drive forward the next phase of innovation in A2A payments. This is a significant step forward in implementing a sustainable, industry-leading solution, aligning with Modulr's commitment to provide seamless and secure payment experiences for customers.'
Ian Morrin, Head of Payments, Tink, said: 'There is clear momentum behind pay by bank solutions in the UK market, so it's fantastic to see Visa spearheading innovation and industry collaboration with the development of Visa A2A.'
'This is a pivotal moment for fintech companies, like Tink, and banks to work together to provide enhanced account-to-account experiences for consumers and businesses alike.'
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