What are A2A SaaS payments? 

Direct bank-to-bank transfers for SaaS services, avoiding card networks and other middlemen, are known as account-to-account (A2A) payments. 

They provide: 

• compared to credit card costs, associated costs may be lower. 
• transaction efficiency can be influenced by processing and settlement speeds. 
• security improvements are related to Payment Initiation Services (PIS) and Open Banking.

Here is the 3-step process: 

1. Initiated via online banking apps or interfaces  
2. The client authorizes payment transfers through strong authentication systems. 
3. They are enabled by banking APIs under Open Banking regulations 

Types: 

• push payments (payer initiates, e.g., one-off purchases) 
• pull payments (payee initiates, e.g., recurring subscriptions)

A2A payments are a strong fit to: 

• recurring subscriptions involve consistent billing practices.) 
• one-off payments via push transfers 
• refunds are issued immediately.
• usage-based billing & invoicing 
• financial account management

A2A payments are a topic of interest because of the following reasons: 

• Risparmio sui costi: No card network fees 
• Efficiency: Faster settlement and lower operational friction
• Sicurezza: Reduced fraud risks with strong banking protocols

Here are the differences between A2A payments and card payments: 

Top 3 A2A payment benefits include: 

• reduced transaction costs may correlate with a decrease in fees per payment.
• customer experience may be related to the features of digital banking apps. 
• clearing and settlement speed may be impacted by the use of API-based real-time systems.

Main consideration for A2A payments include: 

• TLS and crittografia for safe data transfer 
• role-based permissions and granular access management 
• authorization using multi-factor authentication 
• regulation adherence (PSD2, Open Banking norms, etc.) 
• defense-in-depth measures to stop fraud and injection

It depends and here is why: 

• Increasingly open to A2A due to lower fees and stronger security 
• Regional differences: Higher adoption in Europe (Open Banking is mature), slower in the U.S. 
• Customer concerns: Trust in new systems, reliance on familiar credit cards 
• Barrier: Lack of awareness and comfort with Open Banking in some markets