Visa Debuts "Pay by Bank" Service in the United Kingdom
Visa Introduces Secure and Efficient Bank-to-Bank Ecommerce Solution in the UK
Visa has unveiled a new ecommerce payment solution called Visa A2A in the UK. This innovative account-to-account (A2A) service promises a secure, hassle-free, and seamless way to pay directly through bank accounts.
With Visa A2A, customers can make transactions instantly between their bank accounts using Visa's network and card credentials. This bypasses traditional card payment intermediaries, enhancing payment efficiency, liquidity, and cash flow management.
Key features and benefits of Visa A2A for ecommerce in the UK include:
- Real-time, seamless transfers: Payments happen instantly between accounts, supporting faster checkout and settlement processes.
- Improved liquidity for merchants: Merchants can access funds immediately, removing the need for pre-funding and improving capital management.
- Enhanced security: Transactions leverage Visa’s multi-layered security, risk controls, and familiarity of card credentials, increasing trust and reducing payment friction.
- Cost-efficiency and simplicity: A2A payments reduce reliance on card schemes and intermediaries, potentially lowering transaction costs and simplifying backend reconciliation.
- Wide application across sectors: Visa A2A is useful in B2B ecommerce payments, travel industry merchant operations, remittances, digital wallet funding, and customer money transfers.
- Integration with existing Visa infrastructure: Visa’s global network supports both issuing and acquiring services, enabling streamlined payment processing directly on one platform.
The partnership between Visa and Checkout.com, for instance, allows merchants to issue physical and virtual Visa cards while benefiting from Visa’s issuing and acquiring capabilities, enhancing operational efficiency and growth potential in ecommerce. Additionally, providers are complementing traditional card payments with A2A options to meet evolving ecommerce demands, offering merchants and buyers flexible payment methods.
Mandy Lamb, managing director of Visa UK and Ireland, believes Visa A2A is a game-changer for UK consumers and businesses using pay by bank. She states that the service is part of Visa's efforts to continue leading the way in financial services innovation in the UK.
The launch of Visa A2A is based on an open model that enables banks and other industry partners to join and extend Open Banking-enabled payments to businesses. The service aims to expand to ecommerce payments in the UK with a phased approach.
Advancing the UK's fintech ecosystem could unlock £328 billion over the next five years, according to research from Innovate Finance. With Visa A2A, consumers can get their money back if there is an error, similar to card payments, and businesses can benefit from near real-time settlement and simplified cash flow management.
Visa A2A also allows consumers to easily manage their bills and subscriptions through their bank app. This new initiative from Visa is set to revolutionise the way ecommerce transactions are handled in the UK, offering a secure, fast, and cost-effective solution for both businesses and consumers.
- Visa A2A, a new ecommerce payment solution, leverages Visa's global network and card credentials for instant, secure, and seamless bank-to-bank transfers, bypassing traditional card payment intermediaries.
- The Visa A2A service, introduced in the UK, promises real-time, seamless transfers, improved liquidity for merchants, enhanced security, cost-efficiency, and simplicity, and is applicable across various sectors such as B2B ecommerce, travel, remittances, and customer money transfers.
- Visa A2A is part of Visa's ongoing commitment to leading financial services innovation in the UK, and its open model allows banks and other partners to join and extend Open Banking-enabled payments, expanding to ecommerce payments with a phased approach.
- The launch of Visa A2A could potentially unlock £328 billion for the UK's fintech ecosystem over the next five years, offering consumers the ability to manage bills and subscriptions through their bank app, and businesses near real-time settlement and simplified cash flow management, similar to card payments.
- With Visa A2A set to revolutionize ecommerce transactions in the UK, businesses and consumers can benefit from a secure, fast, and cost-effective solution, positioning Visa as a key player in the global fintech community's drive towards innovation in open banking and ecommerce payments.
