In the past decade, digital wallets and alternative payment rails have shifted from fringe experiments to mainstream checkout options. Cards still dominate value share, but merchants and consumers alike increasingly expect choice: fast settlement, low fees, seamless user experience and deep integration into digital journeys.
Across Europe, open banking-enabled account-to-account (A2A) alternatives have begun to carve out space at checkout, offering direct bank-to-bank options that can reduce cost, enhance liquidity and bypass some of the overheads associated with card networks. Analysts project A2A adoption will continue rising as open banking matures and interoperability standards evolve, even if cards remain central to global commerce.
Alex Codina, General Manager for Merchant Payments at Revolut Business, combines a strategic product lens with deep experience scaling digital merchant rails in a highly competitive environment. Before his current role, Codina spent close to a decade at the Boston Consulting Group and then joined Revolut, where he has overseen the development and expansion of the merchant payments business.
In the latest edition of Payment Expert’s Executive Ledger series, Codina reflects on how optionality at checkout is reshaping merchant strategy, the evolution of account-to-account payments, global fragmentation and regulatory complexity, and what it will take for A2A to move from an emerging option to a default choice for businesses and consumers.
Read the full interview below.
Merchant payments is a very interesting space. Account-to-account payments have been discussed for years. What’s changed in the last 12–18 months commercially for A2A payments and their viability for merchants?
What we see in the market is more optionality, which is good for the consumer and good for the market.
When you go to an online checkout, you’re now seeing four or five payment methods. More than that doesn’t make sense for a merchant. So there’s competition for a spot on that checkout. It’s not just account-to-account versus account-to-account. You’re competing with Apple Pay, PayPal, Klarna, cards and other payment methods.
Account-to-account is starting to make space in the market, more in online than in-person payments. Changing the fast motion of in-person payments is harder. Consumers want to pay in seconds. Changing that habit is difficult. That’s why account-to-account is picking up more online.
You see two archetypes: local alternative payment methods and more pan-European or global payment methods like Revolut Pay. It’s starting to pick up, and that’s good for the market.
Talk to us about Revolut Pay in a more global sense and how you mitigate fragmentation across borders?
The success of a payment method depends on two things: success with merchants and success with customers. You need both.
There is international commerce. An e-commerce set up in Spain today doesn’t just target Spanish customers; it targets Europe and beyond. So merchants need payment methods recognised across different countries and that optimise unit economics and settlement times.
Revolut is well known across 25+ European countries. It’s an interledger transaction from a Revolut user account to a Revolut Business account. Standard settlement is T+1 — 24 hours. For trusted merchants, we can make it instant settlement. You can settle like-for-like in more than 30 currencies, without FX surcharge on top. So for merchants wanting to grow borderless, that’s powerful.
On the user side, it’s increasingly pan-European. A Spanish user might book flights with Revolut Pay, then use it for transport or ride-hailing in London. That pan-European nature is hard to replicate.
How does T+1 or instant settlement change treasury and reconciliation models for merchants?
If you’re a merchant with five different payment methods, you may get Revolut funds at T+1 including weekends, or instant for some merchants. Other payment methods on traditional rails might settle in one, two or three days.
So yes, merchants need to adapt cash flow infrastructure and reporting. Some payment methods run on real-time infrastructure; others run on legacy infrastructure with slower settlement.
Comparing Europe to Asia, where QR and local payment methods dominate, do you see a similar transition in Western markets?
There’s definitely a trend toward more optionality. Cards are not disappearing. They’re great infrastructure and will remain relevant, probably with lower share than today, but still relevant.
You have Apple Pay and Google Pay performing strongly. Some methods are in decline, like PayPal. You have other APMs coming in strongly, like Revolut Pay, and local methods in their own markets. There will be shifts in market share.
Account-to-account is typically cheaper for merchants. But consumers must choose it. If consumers don’t choose it, merchants don’t care — they just want revenue first, then efficiency.
Can you elaborate on what makes Revolut Pay more than just account-to-account?
It’s not just an account-to-account transfer. You land on the confirmation screen and can choose what balance to pay with — euro, GBP, dollars, crypto, commodities, credit. That’s already more than a simple transfer.
You earn RevPoints. You can redeem them. Users are doing that at scale. On average, depending on the merchant, you can get 10–20% off with RevPoints. Less than 10% card abandonment — best in class compared to other methods.
It runs on account-to-account rails with a 98.5% authorisation rate, which you don’t see on other rails. To compete with incumbents, you need more than just A2A. You need loyalty, flexibility and product depth.
If you scale further geographically, how do regulatory differences affect this?
Revolut is not a startup anymore. We are one of the largest banks in the Western world. We operate under licences covering more than 30 jurisdictions.
Full compliance comes first. Regulators like Revolut Pay because:
- It brings optionality for users.
- It’s typically cheaper for merchants, improving affordability outcomes.
- It’s European infrastructure, reducing dependence on non-European players.
That combination makes it attractive from a regulatory standpoint.
What needs to happen for account-to-account to become the default choice?
For Revolut Pay, it’s a matter of time.We grew 4x year-on-year last year and expect similar growth this year. It needs to be everywhere. PayPal took 20 years to become omnipresent. We’re moving faster.
For smaller players, they may need support from overseeing bodies because they may not have the same scale or technological capability. Account-to-account is just the starting point. The intersection with other rails — stablecoins, biometric payments — is coming.
Revolut is well positioned to lead in that environment.
