Card giant Visa is taking aim at the UK's burgeoning account-to-account market through its new pay-by-bank offering.
Visa A2A promises to give Brits greater choice, control and protection over how they pay via bank transfers.
The firm says it will let people easily manage their bills and subscriptions through their bank app while effectively providing a similar level of protection typically associated with card payments.
For businesses, Visa A2A takes advantage of real-time settlement through Pay.UK’s Faster Payment System to offer greater visibility over payments and simpler cash flow management.
Firms can take advantage of the digital nature of the service to get notifications if a consumer changes or cancels payment permissions, and it also provides them with the ability to include more transaction data for reconciliation.
With an operational technology platform ready to process bills and subscriptions, Visa plans to expand Visa A2A to include ecommerce payments in the UK with a phased approach.
The firm is also working with an open model that will enable banks and other industry partners to join and extend open banking-enabled payments to businesses.
Mandy Lamb, MD, Visa UK and Ireland, says: "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, adds: "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."