It’s payday, and you’re paying your rent, splitting a dinner bill with friends, or settling your utility payments. Traditionally, you might have used a card, paid hefty processing fees, or waited days for a transfer to clear. The process wasn’t just costly; it was slow and riddled with inefficiencies. Maybe you’ve tried logging into your bank account to make a transfer, manually entering account details—only to realize how error-prone and time-consuming the process could be. Worse yet, an incorrect account number might have sent your money to the wrong recipient, creating a retrieval headache. 

But now you open your banking app, authorize the payment with a simple tap, and voilà, your transaction is complete in seconds—directly from your bank account, with no middlemen inflating the cost or slowing things down. That’s the power of Account-to-Account (A2A) payments driven by open banking, and it’s changing the way we pay in our everyday lives. While A2A payments have existed since the 1970s in the form of direct bank transfers and scheduled Direct Debits, open banking has breathed new life into this old concept. (Need a refresher on how open banking-powered A2A payments differ from its legacy counterpart? Our 2023 roundup has you covered!)

With open banking APIs, A2A payments now combine the simplicity of traditional bank transfers with the speed, security, and convenience demanded by today’s digital-first world. And they don’t just improve convenience for consumers; businesses benefit, too, with conversion success rates exceeding 95%, faster settlement times, and no card processing fees inflating costs. 

In 2024, A2A payments have gained further momentum, driven by regulatory advancements, surging industry demand, and the rise of real-time payment infrastructure. Europe’s PSD2 has laid the foundation for open banking, while Brazil’s Pix and India’s UPI have become benchmarks for financial inclusion and instant payments. The US is catching up with initiatives like FedNow and Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, empowering consumers with data ownership and businesses with the ability to design cost-effective payment solutions. Real-time networks such as Europe’s SEPA Instant, Fast And Secure Transfers (FAST) in Singapore, and Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) are enabling seamless, cross-border payments while cutting transaction costs—a critical advantage in an increasingly interconnected global economy. In this blog, we’ll explore how the year has seen A2A payments scale through strategic partnerships, innovative product launches, and deeper penetration into industries like eCommerce, utilities, and gaming.