Real-time payment company Banked has linked with Visa to help support the payment giant’s latest account-to-account (A2A) venture in the UK.
Launching Visa A2A in the country early next year, Banked will support Visa by offering its PayByBank service in order to create a secure and sustainable payment experience for the UK financial ecosystem.
Banked will utilise Visa A2A platform to facilitate variable recurring payments (VRP), enabling the automatic transfers of money from a payer to a merchant account.
VRPs offer a seamless one-click experience or scheduled at regular intervals, depending on the use case. The recurring payment method provides a more flexible, secure and real-time way to handle repeat payments compared to traditional methods like direct debits or standing orders.
Banked CEO, Brad Goodall, said: “The customer benefits of using VRP include increased control and security of online payments, but the value for businesses is equally compelling.
“Banked recognises the opportunity to accelerate in this space and that’s why we’re excited to be collaborating with Visa to enable rapid uptake of Pay by Bank across a range of industries including insurance, government, utilities, and retail.
“The launch today is testament to the strong partnership we have forged with Visa to deliver a better way of paying that is beneficial to consumers and merchants alike.”
Visa announced its UK A2A service today in a bid to give consumers more control over how they perform bank transfers.
In 2023, Visa’s A2A Faster Payments in the UK processed £3.7trn in A2A payments, a 15% increase over the previous year. Despite this, the payment of bills of bank transfers has yet to be transformed from the initial rise of direct debit almost 60 years ago.
Visa A2A is aiming to rectify this by providing more protection for consumer transfers via biometric, greater choice by adding more payment options, and more control by allowing consumers to pick and choose when and where payments are made.
Mandy Lamb, Managing Director, Visa UK and Ireland, said: “The UK is a dynamic and competitive market and UK consumers have become used to the convenience of digital transactions, from tapping in for their morning commute to grabbing a coffee on the go or shopping online after work.
“We want to bring pay-by-bank methods into the 21st century and give consumers choice, peace of mind and a digital experience they know and love. That’s why we are collaborating with UK banks and open banking players, bringing our technology and years of experience in the payments card market to create an open system for A2A payments to thrive.”
