Visa debuts Pay-by-Bank solution in the UK

By Gloria Methri

Visa has launched its account-to-account (A2A) payment solution in the UK, marking a significant step forward in the evolution of bank transfer payments. Designed to enhance consumer protection and streamline payments for businesses, the new offering enables users to manage bill and subscription payments directly through their banking apps, with Visa’s established security framework now extending to these transactions.

Built on the UK’s Faster Payments infrastructure, Visa A2A offers near real-time settlement, providing businesses with greater visibility and more efficient cash flow management. The solution aims to advance the UK’s open banking ecosystem by providing a digital-first, secure alternative to card-based payments, particularly for recurring and ecommerce use cases.

For consumers, one of the key developments is the introduction of Visa’s best-in-class dispute and refund mechanisms — protections traditionally associated with card payments — to A2A transactions. This includes clearly defined rights and responsibilities for consumers, businesses and financial institutions in the event of errors or failed payments.

“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,” said Mandy Lamb, Managing Director, Visa UK and Ireland. She added, “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.”

In addition to consumer safeguards, Visa A2A enables businesses to receive notifications when customers update or cancel payment mandates, while also facilitating richer transaction data for automated reconciliation — a long-standing pain point in the B2B and subscription economies.

The initiative supports an open ecosystem model, allowing banks, FinTechs and other industry stakeholders to collaborate and scale open banking-enabled payments.

Visa also confirmed plans to expand A2A to ecommerce payments, with a phased rollout intended to deliver a frictionless one-click checkout experience powered by bank transfers. Once authorised, consumers would be able to complete transactions securely without re-entering payment details — combining the convenience of cards with the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of open banking.