Account-to-account payments at checkout are moving from pilot to mainstream. They let a customer pay straight from their bank, so you avoid card rails and reduce fraud risk. The potential upsides are lower costs, faster cash, and a smoother checkout. 

Here’s a simple plan to move from idea to impact, with practical data points you can use in your own business case.

Use a simple model to size the upside. Your business case will ultimately be shaped by the unique features of your business and sector, but here are some of the key factors to consider:

• Example costs and savings: assume a blended card cost of 1.4% plus 10p per transaction and an account-to-account cost of 0.3% plus 5p. On 100,000 transactions at an average £80 basket, the annual saving is about £880k. Your rates will differ, so swap in your own figures.
• Chargebacks: account-to-account removes card chargebacks by design. You still need a fair refunds process, but you avoid chargeback fees and reduce back-office handling.
• Cash flow: domestic Open Banking payments clear in near real time. Moving settlement from T+2 to same day can release working capital and reduce reliance on short-term credit.
• Fraud: auto-populated account details help reduce misdirected payments and social engineering risk.
• Conversion: removing password-heavy steps and auto-filling bank selection can lift completion. Track this with an A/B test against your current best card flow. 

These figures are illustrative. Your baseline  and sector will drive the actual outcomes.

Get clear on where customers drop out and what drives cost in your business.

• Map each step from product page to payment confirmation
• Note failure points like 3DS  timeouts or address checks
• Capture baseline metrics: conversion rate, cost per transaction, time to cash, refund time, fraud losses, chargeback rate
• Agree a target segment for account-to-account, for example high value orders or repeat buyers

Step 2: Pick the right use cases 

Account-to-account works best where the value case is clear.

• One-off eCommerce payments where card fees are high
• High ticket items where chargebacks hurt margins
• Payouts and refunds where speed matters
• Marketplace and platform flows where you need straight-through reconciliation

Step 3: Design consent and user journeys 

Open banking puts the customer in control through secure consent. Keep the flow simple.

• Keep the account-to-account option visible and explain the benefit in plain language
• Pre-fill bank choices and account chosen, based on device and past use when you can
• Use deep links to the customer’s banking app to reduce friction 
• If on desktop, consider using a QR code to guide customers to complete the journey on mobile
• Show confirmation in your brand and return users quickly to your order page

Step 4: Build in fraud and name checks 

Reduce risk without adding friction.

• Combine device checks and velocity limits to spot unusual patterns
• Set refund rules that are clear and quick, since you don’t have card chargebacks
• Log consent and payment events for audit and customer care

Step 5: Integrate with APIs and back office 

The value lands when payments reconcile without manual work.

• Use payments APIs to create, send, and track payment requests in real time
• Subscribe to payment status updates to update orders, stock, and customer emails automatically
• Tag payments with structured references so finance can auto-match in your ERP or TMS

Step 6: Run a controlled pilot 

Prove the case fast with a narrow scope.

• Pick one market or product line and run for 6 to 8 weeks
• Set a holdout group that sees your current card-first flow
• Measure conversion, completion time, cost per transaction, fraud losses, and support contacts
• Gather qualitative feedback from customers and agents

Here are a few example pilot expectations you can test:

• Conversion uplift on targeted journeys: 2 to 5 percentage points
• Average payment completion time: often under one minute end-to-end
• Cost per transaction: materially lower due to avoided card fees and chargebacks

Your actual results will vary, so use your own baselines and rates.

Step 7: Scale with controls

Once the pilot meets targets, consider expanding in waves.

• Add more products and markets based on proven conversion and cost data
• Enable account-to-account as the default for eligible orders and keep card as a secondary option
• Automate refunds and payouts through the same rails

Variable recurring payments (VRP) lets customers set spending limits and give consent once. They suit subscriptions, usage-based billing, and bill-on-behalf models. VRP can also be used to replicate card on file type journey – so that customers can consent once and then initiate payments without having to leave the merchant website (no need to authorise in bank app). A few things to consider:

• Define use cases where a direct debit is too slow or rigid
• Design a simple limit and consent screen so customers stay in control
• Connect consent data to billing and customer care so changes are instant
• Test how VRP affects churn, failed payment rates, and days sales outstanding

What your C-suite will want to see

Senior leaders need simple, stable metrics. Consider focusing on these– and include them in a simple, accessible dashboard.

1. Conversion rate by payment method and device
2. Cost per transaction and total cost to serve
3. Time to cash and refund time
4. Fraud losses and misdirected payment rate
5. Customer contacts per thousand orders about payments

Getting started

You don’t need to replace your current stack. Start with a focused pilot, measure hard outcomes, and scale what works. 

Get in touch with us if you’d like to explore piloting Open Banking-based solutions that could help cut transaction costs and improve conversion.