Payments companies continue to scramble to enhance account-to-account (A2A) solutions, with Worldline the latest to do so via the launch of its ‘Bank Transfer by Worldline’ platform.
Payments firms of various shapes and sizes are looking to cash in on some a range of emerging concepts and technologies this year, with A2A payments one of the biggest areas of focus.
During 2024, the likes of Visa, Mastercard and Worldpay make moves in A2A payments. Though these firms have been involved in this space for many years, the increase in activity is indicative of how much attention A2A transactions are getting.
Paul Marriott-Clarke, Head of Merchant Services at Worldline, stated: “With “Bank Transfer by Worldline”, we have developed a payment method grounded in trust and simplicity, leveraging existing European payment networks and offering innovative customer experience. This launch reinforces our commitment to making payment solutions accessible for all.”
Worldline has taken its new A2A initiative live in 10 countries – Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Spain – and has launches planned in four more – Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary.
The launches followed pilots taking place over the last nine months, and is based around a pool of around 300 million eligible customers, which partner merchants can gain access to. Worldline adds that the solution has been integrated by around 500 of its existing merchant printers, and hopes to ultimately expand the platform across the EU.
As outlined above, A2A payments is becoming an increasingly competitive space, with various companies looking to gain an edge in this rapidly developing area of the payments industry.
Visa and Mastercard, the decades-old rivals which lead the global payments market, have unsurprisingly been keen to make moves in A2A. This year alone the former has launched its A2A offering in the UK whilst the latter purchased the A2A business of The Nets Group in a multi-billion dollar deal.
There may be more to meet the eye to Visa and Mastercard’s desire to step up their respective A2A activity. Some observers, such as Jeroen Hölsher, Global Head of Payment Services at business technology firm Capgemini, believe that the rise of A2A payments could disrupt Visa and Mastercard’s dominance – this could be why the duo are so keen to stay ahead of the curve.
In Worldline’s case, the French multinational has identified a number of benefits to A2A. The firm believes that A2A can address challenges like card limits and heighted fraud risk, in turn reducing costs for merchants.
Alessandro Baroni, Head of Financial Services at Worldline, commented: “By integrating Worldline’s open banking solution, which connects to over 3,500 banks across European countries, “Bank Transfer by Worldline” offers merchants a solution that simplifies payment initiation via bank transfer and unifies the customer experience.”
