Natalia Ivanis, CMO and Partner at Empiria Events, co-organiser of MPE, shares merchant concerns when it comes to offering A2A payments.
How do ecommerce players perceive A2A payments, and how have adoption levels changed in recent years?
In the last few years, account-to-account (A2A) payments have gone from being a niche option to something much more mainstream, especially in digitally advanced markets. During the 2025 MPE conference, industry voices shared how A2A payments are steadily picking up traction. In the UK, for example, brands like Ryanair, Just Eat, and Lastminute.com are already seeing strong results. Their Pay by Bank options aren’t just working, but they’re actually boosting average order values by as much as 20%.
Even though much of the adoption so far has been pushed by merchants (similar to what happened with contactless cards in the early days), customers are increasingly on board, sometimes without even realising they’re using A2A payments, thanks to Open Banking. When done right, A2A payments earn repeat users and build trust over time.
What are merchants’ biggest concerns and challenges when it comes to including A2A payments in their stack?
Even as A2A payments become more common, there are still some barriers to adoption. For many merchants, one significant issue is the fragmentation of standards across markets, which complicates integration. Regulatory uncertainty, particularly regarding refunds and consumer protection, adds to their reluctance.
During discussions at MPE, some retailers, particularly in markets like Germany, have mentioned challenges such as gaps in customer understanding and inconsistent user experiences (UX) compared to standard card transactions. Additionally, scalability-related concerns and trust issues further make decision-making difficult. However, the overall atmosphere is positive; improvements in APIs and changes in regulations could mitigate many of these challenges in the near future.
Which regulatory changes are expected to further influence the real-time payments sector?
Regulation is changing quickly. Three major regulatory developments are poised to reshape the A2A and real-time payments (RTP) landscape:
Payment Services Directive 3 (PSD3): expected to improve interoperability, clarity, and third-party integrations, especially within Open Banking. It will also help address UX shortcomings from PSD2.
Instant payments legislation: the EU’s push for instant payments to be standard for cross-border and domestic transfers is gaining traction, especially through initiatives like SEPA Instant and Wero.
European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet): by integrating digital identity and payments, this initiative aims to make checkout processes more seamless and reduce fraud, indirectly supporting A2A payments’ adoption.
What are MPE’s expectations in terms of major ecommerce and technological trends that will further shape the A2A payments space?
Looking ahead, several trends are likely to reinforce A2A payments’ upward trajectory. Merchants are moving towards more flexible, modular payment setups, making it easier to add A2A payments without overhauling their entire stack. Super wallets and Embedded Finance are gaining momentum, combining features like loyalty programmes, digital IDs, and one-click checkouts into a seamless experience.
AI and automation are just getting started in this space, and they’re already helping with things like fraud detection and smoother transaction flows. Furthermore, with European sovereignty in payments being strengthened by initiatives like EPI’s Wero, investment in A2A payment infrastructure is only going to grow.
All signs indicate that A2A payments will play a leading role in today’s payment landscape.
This editorial piece was first published in The Paypers' Account-to-Account Payments Report 2025, which features insights into global trends, key players, partnerships, and the next phase of the A2A evolution. Access the full report to understand where the A2A payments ecosystem stands today and what’s next.
About the author
Natalia Ivanis is the CMO and Partner at Empiria Events, with over 25 years of experience in marketing and event strategy for the finance and merchant payments industries. Formerly Deputy Head of Cards & POS at SLSP (Erste Group), she co-founded and now co-leads the Merchant Payments Ecosystem (MPE) – Europe’s leading conference and community platform for merchant payment professionals.
About Merchant Payments Ecosystem (MPE)
Empiria Events is a specialised B2B event producer behind leading MPE conferences, Awards, and MPE business intelligence platforms for the finance and merchant payments ecosystem. It is best known for organising Merchant Payments Ecosystem (MPE) – the largest European conference focused on merchant payments, uniting PSPs, merchants, fintechs, and thought leaders for high-value networking and curated insight.
