Account-to-Account (A2A) Payments and Open Banking Payments

How Account-to-Account Payments and Open Banking Are Transforming B2B Payments

Businesses are increasingly moving payments directly between bank accounts, bypassing card networks and paper checks.

Open Banking initiatives (and related account-to-account (A2A) payment solutions) enable companies to initiate payments straight from payer to payee accounts via APIs, often at lower cost than card interchange. This not only cuts fees, but also speeds up settlement by eliminating middlemen.

In regions like Europe and the UK, Open Banking has unlocked cheap, instant bank transfers for B2B commerce. In the U.S., next-gen ACH and bank connectivity tools are beginning to offer similar capabilities.

The result is a push toward interoperability and direct bank payments as a norm in B2B, with the global value of open banking payments expected to reach hundreds of billions by the late 2020s.

Industry Impacts: Key Sectors Adopting Account-to-Account Payments

Manufacturing & Wholesale: High-volume payers with thin margins (e.g. manufacturers, distributors) have outsized interest in A2A payments to avoid hefty card fees on large invoices. Nearly 96% of manufacturers expect to replace checks with faster electronic payments, including direct account transfers, to reduce costs and get paid faster. This trend solves the pain of narrow margins being eaten by interchange fees and slow check clearing.

Construction & Field Services: Project-driven industries that traditionally rely on checks (to manage draws and subcontractor payments) see A2A transfers as a way to accelerate cash flow. It creates an opportunity to pay suppliers or crews just-in-time without the delays of mailing checks, keeping projects on schedule.

Online B2B Marketplaces: Digital marketplaces connecting buyers and suppliers are adopting direct bank payments (via open banking APIs or ACH integrations) at checkout. This appeals to their business customers’ pain point of entering card details or dealing with invoice processing. Instead, buyers can authorize a bank debit in-app, improving conversion and lowering payment processing costs for the platform.

Technology Roadmap Impact for Payment Processors and Platforms

Integration Requirements: Payment facilitators (PayFacs) and processors must integrate with banking APIs and networks to support A2A payments. This could mean partnering with Open Banking aggregators or RTP/FedNow service providers. Ensuring secure connections for account authentication and payment initiation is key.

Orchestration Strategies: Payment orchestrators should treat bank-to-bank payments as first-class routes in their platforms. That means intelligently routing transactions through ACH, SEPA, Faster Payments, etc., when cost and speed advantages apply. Strategies include offering clients rules to steer large payments to low-cost A2A rails while using card rails only when necessary.

Infrastructure Capabilities: Processors need to upgrade core systems for 24/7 processing and instant confirmation, since bank payments (especially under Open Banking or instant schemes) don’t follow batch schedules. Capabilities like real-time balance verification, fraud monitoring on bank debits, and ISO 20022 message handling become crucial.

Go-to-Market Acceleration for A2A and Pay-by-Bank Adoption

All players can accelerate go-to-market by highlighting the cost savings of direct bank payments.

For PayFacs, a lever is bundling A2A options into their merchant SDKs to let software partners easily offer “pay by bank” alongside cards.

For banks and processors, a key GTM strategy is educating mid-market clients on how direct deposits improve cash flow (e.g. precise timing of payments and reduced fees) and offering promotional pricing to drive adoption.

At Praxent, we help payment companies unlock the speed, cost efficiency, and interoperability that define next-generation A2A payments. Whether it’s integrating with banking APIs, building orchestration logic, or upgrading core systems for real-time settlement, our engineering teams make these innovations commercially viable fast. Explore how we help B2B payment leaders accelerate and modernize their technology roadmaps.

Learn more about Praxent’s B2B payments technology consulting and engineering solutions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are account-to-account (A2A) payments?
Account-to-account payments are direct bank-to-bank transfers that move money without card networks, enabling faster settlement and lower fees for B2B transactions.

2. How does Open Banking support A2A payments?
Open Banking provides secure APIs that let businesses initiate payments directly from customer bank accounts, improving speed, transparency, and reducing processing costs.

3. Are A2A payments cheaper than card payments?
Yes. A2A eliminates interchange fees and card network costs, which is why high-volume and payables-heavy industries like manufacturing and wholesale are rapidly adopting them.

4. What is “pay by bank” and how does it work?
“Pay by bank” lets a buyer authenticate directly with their bank instead of entering card details. The payment moves through an A2A rail or Open Banking API, lowering fees for platforms.

5. Can payment processors support A2A payments today?
Most processors and PayFacs are integrating Open Banking aggregators or instant payment networks such as ACH, RTP, Faster Payments, or SEPA to support real-time A2A transfers.

6. Why are B2B companies shifting from checks to direct bank payments?
B2B companies want:

• Faster settlement
• Lower fees
• Reduced check processing delays
• Improved cash-flow visibility

7. Is Open Banking adoption growing in the U.S.?
Yes. While Europe and the UK are ahead, U.S. banks are rolling out APIs and instant-payment infrastructure to support Open Banking–driven A2A experiences.