Token.io and Open Banking Expo’s survey has found that 59% of respondents see recurring and 1-click payments as essential to Pay by Bank.
Token.io and Open Banking Expo have published their annual Pay by Bank Signals & Trends survey, based on responses from banks, payment service providers (PSPs), third-party providers (TPPs), merchants, and industry observers, mainly in the UK and Europe. Among respondents, 72% of banks and 87% of PSPs said they already offer or accept Pay by Bank. The findings come as adoption grows, with AliExpress now accepting Pay by Bank at checkout in the UK, France, Spain, and Germany, and Octopus Money allowing customers to fund pensions and investment accounts directly from their bank accounts.
Recurring payments, branding, and point of sale
In the survey, 59% of respondents said recurring and 1-click payments are essential for Pay by Bank to rival cards in Europe, with subscriptions and bill payments (62%) and ecommerce (59%) seen as the main opportunities. In the UK, 89% reported merchant demand for commercial variable recurring payments (cVRPs), following the launch of the UK Payments Initiative scheme in June 2026. Across all markets, 84% said a unified brand would help adoption, rising to 93% in the UK, while point-of-sale acceptance was also seen as key.
Todd Clyde, CEO of Token.io, stated that the value of Pay by Bank has long been understood across the payments industry, and that merchants are increasingly recognising its potential across use cases including subscriptions, bill payments, ecommerce, and B2B payments. According to Clyde, the next step is to make Pay by Bank easier for merchants to offer and consumers to use, with recurring and 1-click payments, wider acceptance, and strong PSP partnerships central to competing with established payment methods.
PSP channels and consumer protection
According to the survey, 61% of respondents see PSPs and payment gateways as the best channel for merchants to access Pay by Bank, compared with around a quarter who favour direct relationships with Open Banking providers, and 84% reported merchant demand. However, more than a third of PSP respondents said they knew of merchants bypassing them to work directly with Open Banking providers, and 45% of PSPs viewed these providers as a significant or growing competitive threat.
The survey also showed a lack of agreement on consumer protection when Pay by Bank payments go wrong, with the findings pointing to the value of a central scheme with clear rules and an efficient resolution process. A separate Token.io survey of 150 UK businesses found a similar split on responsibility for fraudulent or unauthorised transactions: 20% said a central Pay by Bank scheme should resolve issues and cover losses, 24% said the customer’s bank should be responsible, and 18% were unsure.
