The European payments landscape is evolving rapidly. Visa and Mastercard have launched their Click to Pay mandates, meaning it will be compulsory to integrate this technology for issuers.
This will change depending on the country, but in 2025, Mastercard have a deadline of 24 January and Visa, 18 April. With these upcoming deadlines, and some already passed at the end of 2024, card issuers are feeling the pressure to keep up with this infrastructure
change and the ability to facilitate this for their card issuers.
As issuers start to take on Click to Pay, so as not to fall behind their competitors or lack in their compliance, it is important to look at what the mandate is, why it’s important, and how banks can meet it. Finextra spoke with Venkat Srinivasan, sales
and go-to-market lead, Thales, to dive into this issue and how a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform can play an important role in solving pain points.
What is Click to Pay and why do we need it?
Click to Pay is an initiative by EMVCo and has been signed up to by all major card issuers like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. One of the main aims behind this is to bring convenience and security to all online shoppers.
Srinivasan highlighted that Click to Pay “differentiates itself by acting as a universal, card-based, and device-agnostic solution supported by major credit card networks. It targets users who prefer the familiarity of card payments but want an easier, faster,
and more secure experience online.”
From a customer perspective, Srinivasan said it makes online shopping “fast, secure, and effortless”. He elaborated that for new customers they can be automatically enrolled in Click to Pay by their bank, allowing them to use it from day one of getting their
card, and existing customers can enrol through their banking app or the first time they use Click to Pay during an online purchase.
Srinivasan added: “At checkout, consumers simply select Click to Pay, choose their card, and confirm the payment—no need to re-enter card details.”
Adding to this convenience of not having to enter card details every time, is the enhanced security provided by tokenisation in Click to Pay. Srinivasan said: “Click to Pay ensures every transaction is both convenient and secure through tokenisation and
bank-level authentication, meaning robust security measures like multi-factor authentication, used by banks to verify users, that ensure transactions are both secure and protected against fraud.”
Click to Pay then offers enhanced security and decreased friction, all contributing to lowering the number of shopping cart abandonments, an increasing issue for merchants. Srinivasan added: “Click to Pay works across all participating merchants, offering
a consistent and frictionless payment experience for everyone.”
What pain points do issuers have to contend with?
Srinivasan described that most issuers are approaching Click to Pay through one of two methods:
- Direct integration: Some handle the process in-house, using the APIs provided by card schemes to connect directly.
- Processor support: Others rely on their issuer processors to implement and manage the integration on their behalf
However, from his experience he is seeing that many issuers are yet to begin this process because of a number of challenges they are facing.
The first among these is the ever-evolving scope of Click to Pay, which has changed since its initial roll out. This has made it harder for issuers to finalise their plans for implementation. However, this is the nature
of Click to Pay, that it is ever evolving and not a one-time solution.
A second painpoint is the high cost and increased efforts needed for implementation, which Srinivasan described as demanding “substantial investment in resources and compliance efforts, adding to the complexity.” And due to the ever-evolving
scope of Click to Pay, this means that high costs are not only a challenge for the initial integration, but will endure over time as well.
A third stress area is around operational hurdles involved in Click to Pay. Issuers are being required to manage bulk cardholder enrolment, as well as opt outs from this. Adding to this strain is the requirement to ensure data compliance.
This additionally affects customer experience considerations. Click to Pay enrolment – whether for new or existing customers – needs to be seamless and intuitive, and consent management need to be clear as well as compliant.
A final challenge for issuers is the technical complexity which is required to integrate Click to Pay. Many issuers are working with legacy systems making integration more challenging and resource intensive.
Srinivasan said: “These challenges, coupled with the need for ongoing updates and support, have delayed adoption for many issuers, despite the urgency to comply with Click to Pay standards. Luckily, alternative routes exist that allow issuers another path
to Click to Pay.”
Where do SaaS partnerships come in?
Despite these points, transition to Click to Pay can often be perceived more difficult that it is in reality. There are several opportunities for issuers to alleviate their pains and ensure a smooth adoption of Click to Pay, for example by partnering with
a vendor offering Click to Pay in SaaS mode, which alleviates a lot of the heavy lifting financial institutions need to do ahead of implementation.
Srinivasan noted that such integrations not only reduce the heavy lifting required by financial institutions for implementation but also unlock a host of modular, business-critical payment features with minimal effort. This approach ensures cost efficiency,
scalability, and faster time to market, enabling issuers to stay competitive while addressing customer needs seamlessly.
Srinivasan concluded that a SaaS partnership “speeds up deployment, helping issuers meet compliance deadlines and remain competitive.”
Improving end user adoption of Click to Pay
Lastly, in order to ease pain points and maximise Click to Pay adoption, Srinivasan emphasised the importance of prioritising customer education and awareness. To address end user adoption, it’s crucial that issues “proactively communicate the benefits of
Click to Pay, focusing on its convenience, security, and seamless checkout experience.”
Issuers should highlight security features like tokenisation and bank-level authentication to build trust, while using customer data to tailor communications and personalise enrolment processes. Srinivasan also suggested incentivising early adoption with
rewards or discounts, as well as ensuring the enrolment process for new and existing customers is simple and user-friendly, such as quick opt-in options in banking apps or online platforms.
Finally, ongoing collaboration with stakeholders—partners, processors, and card schemes—will help issuers streamline adoption and stay competitive in the evolving payments landscape.