Visa debuts a new product designed to make it safer to pay directly from your bank account

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Visa said it plans to launch a dedicated service for bank transfers, skipping credit cards and the traditional direct debit process.

Visa, which alongside Mastercard is one of the world's largest card networks, said Thursday it plans to launch a dedicated service for account-to-account (A2A) payments in Europe next year.

Users will be able set up direct debits — transactions that take funds directly from your bank account — on merchants' e-commerce stores with just a few clicks.

Visa said consumers will be able to monitor these payments more easily and raise any issues by clicking a button in their banking app, giving them a similar level of protection to when they use their cards.

The service should help people deal with problems like unauthorized auto-renewals of subscriptions, by making it easier for people to reverse direct debit transactions and get their money back, Visa said. It won't initially apply its A2A service to things like TV streaming services, gym memberships and food boxes, Visa added, but this is planned for the future.

The product will initially launch in the U.K. in early 2025, with subsequent releases in the Nordic region and elsewhere in Europe later in 2025. 

The problem currently is that when a consumer sets up a payment for things like utility bills or childcare, they need to fill in a direct debit form.

But this offers consumers little control, as they have to share their bank details and personal information, which isn't secure, and have limited control over the payment amount.

Static direct debits, for example, require advance notice of any changes to the amount taken, meaning you have to either cancel the direct debit and set up a new one or carry out a one-off transfer.

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