Following Amazon and eBay adding pay-by-bank to checkouts, the payment method appears to be edging into the mainstream, but whether it can truly challenge cards remains to be seen.
TrueLayer CEO and Co-founder Francesco Simoneschi recently said pay-by-bank has moved from “fintech concept to everyday payment experience.”
He didn’t back this claim with adoption numbers or statistics, but pointed to a subtler sign of market change: “When national broadcasters start explaining a new payment method to consumers, it’s usually a signal the market is reaching an inflection point.”
Simoneschi’s observation is not without reason, and it isn’t just because of mainstream broadcasters like the BBC running breakfast programme segments. In recent weeks, e-commerce giants eBay and Amazon have launched pay-by-bank in the UK, enabling buyers to authorise payments directly through their banking apps without sharing card details.
Other companies, including Just Eat and Ryanair, have rolled out similar capabilities, highlighting a growing confidence in account-to-account payments. Yet wherever pay-by-bank’s rise is discussed, cards are never far behind. It is almost as if the new method exists solely to displace them, and consumers will inevitably pick one over the other.
Therefore, the question remains: can pay-by-bank actually replace card payments?
Benefiting from the fall of cards
Worries of Visa and Mastercard‘s monopoly has become a recurring theme around the world as of late. In Europe, regulators and industry bodies are exploring alternatives to traditional card networks, with initiatives such as Wero aimed at bolstering payments sovereignty and reducing reliance on US firms.
While sovereignty has been the key motivator behind Europe’s push, the UK hasn’t really leaned on this narrative, despite what some publications may suggest. Last month, mainstream outlets reported that banks in the UK had held a “replacement meeting” to supplant Visa and Mastercard.
Payment Expert spoke to insiders, who confirmed the meeting was actually focused on the next phase of the UK’s payments upgrade under the government-backed National Payments Vision. Nevertheless, regulatory pressure to diversify the payments landscape is creating a fertile environment for alternatives like pay by bank to thrive.
Merchant adoption and the business case
Regulatory ambitions for payments sovereignty alone aren’t enough to make pay-by-bank a real competitor to cards. What truly drives its adoption is merchant demand, and that demand is growing thick and fast. Speaking to Payment Expert, a spokesperson from eBay says the option “complements the broad range of payment options we offer – ensuring buyers can choose the solution that best fits their preferences.”
James Neville, CEO of Yaspa, describes the launches as “super, super positive,” noting the payment method in the UK “is on par with cards, if not better. It has less fraud, less chargebacks. You know who you’re paying, all those things we’ve got.”
Neville explains the trajectory to Payment Expert by recalling the early days of PayPal on eBay. He says the now-familiar yellow-and-blue button was “the start of the ascendance of PayPal,” and adds, “I think, pay by bank being on eBay and Amazon is just the start of another cycle.”
One key motivation for merchants is cost efficiency. Unlike card networks, which pass payments through multiple intermediaries – gateway, acquirer, issuing bank – pay by bank transactions go directly between the consumer and merchant, lowering fees and operational overhead.
The method also reduces fraud and chargebacks, giving merchants more confidence and control over transactions. Adoption metrics show the momentum behind the service, with TrueLayer reporting that pay-by-bank now processes over 36 million monthly transactions in the UK, up from 25 million the previous year.
A spokesperson from TrueLayer tells Payment Expert: “Our research shows that 90% of merchants either have pay by bank on their immediate roadmap or plan to add it soon.”
Consumer problems
While the payment method offers clear benefits for merchants, such as lower fees, reduced chargebacks and the removal of intermediaries, these same features can create hurdles for consumers.
Unlike card payments, which come with familiar protections such as regulated dispute processes, direct account-to-account payments place more responsibility on users. This was highlighted in the BBC coverage Simoneschi referenced, which featured bold headlines warning “you lose consumer protections,” and suggested the advantages for shoppers were less obvious.
Providers are not ignoring these concerns and are working to educate users. A recent TrueLayer blog highlights benefits such as instant refunds, avoidance of card expiry issues, strong authentication, resilience during outages and better budgeting visibility.
Even when protections are better understood, habits remain a significant friction point for adoption
Neville explains, “even when new methods exist, people tend to fall back on what they know,” emphasising the deep-rooted familiarity of card usage.
There are also more subtle barriers at play, starting with something as simple as language.
Yaspa found last year that 55% of UK adults were familiar with the term “pay by bank,” but more recent research suggests recognition is falling. On the surface, this may seem like a minor or even artificial issue, but it is one Neville has consistently flagged as a real obstacle to adoption.
He tells Payment Expert that terminology can shape perception, noting “open banking” as a phrase can create hesitation among consumers, while “pay by bank” feels more intuitive and transactional. Familiarity, he suggests, is just as much about how the payment is presented as about how it works. If consumers do not immediately understand what they are being asked to do, they are far more likely to default back to cards.
This is where education, user experience and messaging become critical. Providers are not only competing on speed or cost, but on clarity, ensuring consumers recognise the process, trust it, and feel confident using it in everyday situations.
Can pay by bank replace cards?
Neville tells Payment Expert the future is not binary. “I’m not a black and white person,” he says. “I don’t think you’ll ever get rid of cards. I don’t think you’ll ever get rid of open banking.”
With growing familiarity among consumers and clear benefits for merchants, he believes pay by bank will continue to accelerate online, adding “account-to-account open banking… will start to be well ahead of cards in the next three to five years.”
The challenge, however, becomes more pronounced in physical retail. Card payments, and increasingly mobile wallets, have set a high bar for convenience, with tap-to-pay now second nature for most consumers.
Neville acknowledges this, noting in-store journeys, particularly those reliant on QR codes or multiple steps, still introduce friction which can deter use. As Neville comes close to conceding second place in these environments, his thinking shifts to a different reality unfolding elsewhere. In Asia, he explains, QR code-based payments are now part of everyday commerce, aided by incentives and rewards.
This change in thinking shows while pay by bank may not replace cards altogether, the innovators and leaders in the space are continuously finding ways to compete.
