- Visa completes first Visa A2A transaction to demonstrate an energy bill being paid – marking a major milestone towards rolling out Visa A2A in the UK
- First market-ready solution in the UK will bring familiar card-level protections to commercial variable recurring payments (cVRPs)
- Visa research shows 60% of UK consumers say they’d likely try new ways to pay bills – showing strong appetite for innovation in everyday payments
Visa has confirmed that Kroo Bank, Utilita and Tink have carried out the first commercial variable recurring payment (cVRP) using its Visa A2A solution in the UK, marking a major step forward in the development of account-to-account payments. The milestone transaction – demonstrating an energy bill payment to Utilita – was processed through Visa’s open industry A2A model and followed by further successful transactions, underscoring the solution’s readiness ahead of wider rollout.
In the UK, Direct Debit remains the standard method for handling recurring bills and subscriptions. However, the system was not built for today’s digital expectations, often giving consumers limited visibility over payment timings and amounts, alongside fewer protections than they receive online. According to Visa research, 60% of UK consumers surveyed say they would likely try a new way to pay bills if one were available.
Visa A2A has been developed to address these issues directly, offering a modernised alternative for businesses and consumers. It provides instant payment confirmation as well as greater transparency and control over recurring charges. The solution has also been designed to elevate the A2A experience with strengthened consumer protections comparable to card payments, plus a dispute resolution process that helps ensure people can recover funds if something goes wrong. Displaying the Secured by Visa trustmark, the service gives customers confidence that their payments are secure.
Built on open banking principles, Visa A2A brings banks and industry partners together to establish consistent standards and rules for cVRPs. The solution is intended to function across the entire payments ecosystem and can be applied to a broad range of use cases, particularly billing, subscriptions and low-risk e-commerce. Its emphasis on protection, a sustainable commercial model and a recognised trustmark supports the drive to unlock the full potential of open banking in the UK. It also aligns with the National Payments Vision to deliver innovative, secure everyday payment experiences that expand choice and contribute to economic growth.
The steps of the first transaction:
This first transaction showcases how the ecosystem works seamlessly together to enable a secure, near-instant payment experience, making it easier and faster for customers to pay their recurring utility bills with confidence.
- Payment Initiator (Tink): Tink initiated the transaction on behalf of the payer, doing a funds check and triggering the payment flow.
- Payer Bank (Kroo Bank): Kroo Bank, acting as the Payer Financial Institution, initiated the payment directly from their bank account. The payment was sent in real-time, via the UK’s Faster Payments Service.
- Visa A2A: Visa orchestrated the transaction through its Visa A2A solution, providing the operating model, the liability and dispute framework and the user experience guidelines, including the ‘Secured by Visa’ trustmark, ensuring built-in consumer protections for the payment.
- Beneficiary Merchant (Utilita): Utilita demonstrated the creation of the commercial variable recurring payment mandate from their Utilita app. The mandate is designed to enable both customer top-ups in app, and off-session utility bill payments, with Visa A2A enabling faster reconciliation and improved cash flow, while providing their customers with a secure payment method they can trust.
Mark Wilcocks, VP Head of Product & Solutions, Visa UK & Ireland said: “Today marks a major milestone in UK payments innovation with the first commercial Variable Recurring Payment transaction powered by Visa A2A. This breakthrough demonstrates how industry collaboration is transforming the way consumers and businesses manage recurring payments. For consumers, it means greater control, transparency, and security when paying bills – no more surprises or delays. For merchants, it unlocks faster settlement, improved cash flow, and a trusted payment experience for their customers. We congratulate everyone involved in this milestone and extend our thanks to our partners Kroo, Tink, and Utilita for their commitment to driving payments innovation in the UK.”
Danny Haynes, Chief Product Officer at Kroo, said: “At Kroo, we’re proud to be part of a major step forward in how the UK moves money. By making recurring payments faster, safer, and more transparent, we’re giving people and businesses real-time control over their finances. This marks the next evolution for recurrent payments – the beginning of a new era in everyday banking, and we’re proud to be leading the way.”
Ian Morrin, Head of Payments at Tink, said: “By powering the first cVRP transaction with Visa A2A, Tink is helping to set new standards for speed, security, and transparency in recurring payments. This is a key milestone, but it’s just the start for Visa A2A and the potential impact of this transformative solution. More choice and control is always good news for consumers and businesses.”
Ian Burgess, Chief Technology Officer at Utilita, said: “Our commitment to technological leadership has always focused on empowering consumers, and payments are at the heart of that mission. That’s why we’re thrilled to have played a role in this groundbreaking achievement… a true ‘man on the moon’ moment for the evolution of account-to-account (A2A) payments. It’s important our customers have the same trusted security and protections they’ve come to expect from their cards.”
In the future, Visa intends to expand Visa A2A beyond bills and subscriptions to support new use cases in the UK, including ecommerce payments, with a phased approach.
