Visa Prepares to Launch Account-to-Account Payments in Europe—Starting in the U.K.

Visa Inc. announced early Thursday it will launch account-to-account (A2A) payment capabilities in the United Kingdom in early 2025. The move will allow U.K. consumers paying bills to do so directly from their bank account, as opposed to paying by check, cash, or card.

Visa’s plans for the service, called Visa A2A, include supporting product subscriptions and services including digital streaming, gym memberships, and food boxes.

The addition of A2A payments capabilities hands Visa a competitive edge, as A2A payments are a popular payment method outside the United States, says Trevor Forbes, director of engagement strategy at the payments consultancy and research service TSG. 

“A2A is already popular in certain markets overseas,” Forbes says by email. “Adding A2A gives Visa greater involvement in this trend and it gives greater choice in payment options for users from a well-trusted brand.”

The growing popularity of A2A payments is being driven by a number of factors, including a trend toward open banking and government-backed initiatives. In the case of the latter, a classic example is taking place in Brazil, where the central bank established the Pix A2A system, Forbes adds.

As part of its A2A service, Visa will offer a formal dispute-resolution process that provides U.K. consumers with a way to check transactions. In addition, the use of new authentication technologies, such as biometrics, could help reduce unauthorized transactions, observers say. U.K. consumers will also be able to set up and manage payment permissions and set limits on the amount of A2A transaction amounts.

Visa developed Visa A2A in partnership with several U.K. fintechs, including Moneyhub, Yaspa, real-time payment provider Banked Ltd., embedded-payments provider Modulr Finance Ltd., and open-banking technology providers Salt Edge Ltd. and Vyne Technologies Ltd.

The latest thrust into A2A payments indicates Visa is evolving its network capabilities to support more than just card-based payments, observers note.

“Visa is moving beyond [being a card network] as A2A evolves,” says Thad Peterson, a strategic advisor for Datos Insights. “If Visa is going to be a true payments network, the operative word being ‘payments,’ it makes sense for it to explore payments beyond cards.”

While A2A payments are popular outside the United States, it is unlikely that Visa will introduce its A2A service in the U.S. market any time soon, observers say.

One reason is that the U.S. is a very card-centric economy by comparison to nations where card networks are less developed. “Other countries don’t have as established a card infrastructure as the U.S.,” Peterson says. “While new technologies, such as A2A payments, transcend card-based networks [in other countries], the card infrastructure in the U.S. is way ahead of the curve, so we are kind of stuck with what we have.”

Another reason may be that Visa seems to be focused on expanding A2A payments outside the U.S. and beyond the U.K., Forbes adds.