What is A2A and what drives its widespread adoption among businesses?

Digital payments are undergoing their biggest transformation in decades. If five years ago cards seemed like an unshakable standard, today consumers - and especially businesses - are discovering a more secure and significantly more cost-effective way to pay and get paid. It’s called A2A, or Pay by Bank. In Southeast Europe, this transformation is happening through IRIS Pay - a solution that makes A2A payments accessible, secure and highly efficient for businesses.

This is a new type of payment that happens directly between two bank accounts, without the involvement of cards or card schemes. And although it may sound like something highly specialized, it is in fact extremely simple - and that simplicity is exactly where its power lies.

What exactly is A2A?

A2A stands for Account-to-Account. The customer selects “Pay by Bank” / IRIS Pay, is redirected to their mobile or online banking, confirms with biometrics or PIN, and the payment is completed. All details - amount, IBAN, payment reference - are already filled in. The process has nothing in common with typing long card numbers, CVV codes, passwords or SMS confirmations.

This is one of the reasons more and more customers prefer it. According to data from markets where Pay by Bank is already mainstream (such as the UK), over 65% of consumers would choose this method if offered at checkout. And that’s no surprise, considering that in the UK alone it already exceeds 30 million transactions monthly, growing each year at a pace traditional payment methods can rarely match.

Why is the world turning to A2A?

The most attractive aspect of Pay by Bank is something rarely seen in payments - it is both more secure and more affordable at the same time.

Businesses feel this directly. Card payments involve multiple intermediaries - card schemes, processors, anti-fraud systems, issuing and acquiring banks - each adding its own cost. With A2A, this journey becomes extremely short. The payment moves directly between the customer’s bank account and the merchant’s account, reducing costs by 50–60% compared to card acceptance.

But price is not the only factor. A2A removes one of the biggest friction points in online checkout: the effort required from the customer. When the payment is made through their own bank, with no data to enter and no risk of errors or data leaks, the experience is far smoother. Naturally, this leads to higher conversion rates and fewer abandoned carts.

Security is also on a different level. With Pay by Bank, all checks and authentication occur inside the customer's banking app - using biometrics, PIN, or any combination of factors the bank applies to protect the account. The merchant never stores sensitive data that could be compromised. There’s no card number, no CVV, nothing to steal.

What does A2A look like in practice?

The process is surprisingly short. The customer taps the IRIS Pay button, sees a list of banks, selects their own, and confirms. In most cases, this takes just seconds.

Across EU countries, including Bulgaria, the payment can reach the merchant’s account in around 10 seconds, and when the bank doesn’t support instant payments - within the timeframe of a standard bank transfer. In all cases, the movement of funds is transparent and secure.

A2A and IRIS Pay: when technology becomes accessible

IRIS Pay turns this modern payment approach into a solution any business can use - whether accepting payments online, on-site, or remotely.

Merchants can integrate IRIS Pay into their website or app, generate payment links that can be sent via SMS, Viber, email or embedded in ERP systems, or accept payments on-site through QR codes using the IRIS Pay for Merchants mobile app. All these flows rely on the same principle: a direct bank-to-bank transfer, with no cards and no unnecessary steps.

This makes A2A particularly suitable for a wide range of sectors - from eCommerce to hospitality, courier companies, insurance brokers, dental practices, valuation firms, and freelancers. Wherever speed and security matter, IRIS Pay becomes a preferred method. And wherever card fees are a burden, businesses quickly discover how much more cost-effective an alternative A2A can be.

Why A2A is not the future - it’s the present

The shift is already underway. Across Europe, new regulations and standards are accelerating the adoption of direct bank payments. Customers are now used to confirming everything on their phones. And businesses are moving toward models that improve conversion and reduce costs.

A2A brings all of this together.

IRIS Pay is fast, secure and more affordable - three things the digital world has always wanted from payments.