A2A Payments (Account-to-Account)
A2A (account-to-account) payments are transactions that move money directly from one bank account to another, bypassing card networks like Visa and Mastercard entirely. Instead of the payer's funds flowing through an issuing bank, a card scheme, an acquiring bank, and a payment processor — each taking a fee — A2A payments travel directly between the payer's and recipient's banks via schemes like SEPA Credit Transfer.
For real estate, the economic case is straightforward. Card payments typically cost the merchant (in this case, the property company) between 1.5% and 3% of the transaction value in processing fees. For a €1,000 monthly rent payment, that is €15–30 lost to card fees every month, per unit. A2A payments, initiated via open banking, cost a flat fee — typically €0.10–0.50 per transaction regardless of amount. At scale, the savings are substantial: a 500-unit portfolio collecting €500,000/month in rent saves €7,500–15,000/month by switching from cards to A2A.
A2A payments initiated through open banking APIs also provide real-time confirmation. When a tenant authorises an A2A payment through their banking app, the property company knows within seconds whether the payment succeeded or failed — unlike direct debits, which can be reversed up to eight weeks after execution, or card payments, which are subject to chargeback disputes.
The main limitation of A2A payments is that they require the payer's active participation at the moment of payment. Unlike a direct debit (which the creditor initiates on a pre-set schedule) or a card-on-file (which charges automatically), an A2A payment needs the tenant to approve each transaction. For recurring rent, this means a monthly authorisation — a trade-off that most property companies accept given the cost savings.