Payments glossary · Methods
Account-to-Account (A2A) Payments
Account-to-account (A2A) payments move money directly from the payer's bank account to the payee's account without a card network in between, usually as a credit transfer the customer authorises in their banking app.
How Account-to-Account (A2A) Payments works
A2A is an umbrella term. It covers traditional bank transfers where the customer types in the payee's details; open banking pay-by-bank flows, where a payment initiation provider pre-fills the transfer and the customer only authenticates; QR and alias-based schemes such as Pix in Brazil and UPI in India; and national e-commerce schemes built on bank accounts, such as iDEAL in the Netherlands and BLIK in Poland. Most modern A2A payments run over instant payment rails, so the merchant receives funds within seconds.
For merchants, the attractions are lower transaction costs than cards in many markets, fast settlement, no failed payments caused by expired cards, and no card chargebacks. Authentication happens in the customer's bank, which also satisfies strong customer authentication in the EEA and UK.
The limitations are real too. Customers do not get the same dispute rights as with cards, which can reduce trust in unfamiliar merchants; refunds must be sent back as separate payments; recurring payments are less mature than direct debit or stored cards, though variable recurring payments are addressing this in the UK; and coverage depends on each country's banks and schemes. Name-checking services, Verification of Payee in the EU and Confirmation of Payee in the UK, help reduce misdirected payments.