Real-time account-to-account (A2A) payment volumes grew by around 40% globally in 2024 and now represent roughly a quarter of retail digital payments worldwide. Cards still lead, although Capgemini estimates their share of combined B2B and B2C payment volume fell from 65% in 2020 to about half in 2025.

How can banks build A2A into their payment offer without adding complexity to their operations?

A2A in a multi-rail payments landscape

In this article, we are defining A2A as direct bank-to-bank payments from one account to another, often in real time over schemes such as Faster Payments (UK), SEPA Instant (Europe) and RTP or FedNow (US).

Adoption of A2A payments differs by region. BCG identifies Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa as the clear leaders. Europe and North America have been slower, as consumers remain loyal to established card systems.

Even so, real-time A2A is now growing in Europe. SEPA Instant Credit Transfers accounted for 25% of EU credit transfer volume in the first quarter of 2025. Open banking creates a further A2A channel, as payment initiation services can start these payments for consumers.

At HPS, we see the rise of A2A payments and wallets speeding up the shift towards instant, interoperable multi-rail architectures.

The challenge of payment fragmentation

As the payment mix grows, it becomes more important for banks to manage several payment types effectively. Three factors are also making operations harder to manage:

●      fragmented payment systems

●      schemes that vary by region

●      hybrid models combining cards, A2A and wallets.

When each payment type runs on its own system, a bank may struggle to see all its activity in one place, and consistent controls become harder to apply.

The benefits of a unified payments platform

One way to reduce this complexity is a unified payments platform for banks. This centralised payments platform shares one architecture across all payment capabilities. It can be modular, letting banks add features as their needs change.

The main advantage is that A2A can offer the same level of service as cards, without a separate, costly integration for each payment type. At present, the extras banks attach to cards are not automatically available for A2A. A unified platform, however, lets banks provide:

●      Matching customer services: Banks can extend card benefits, such as insurance and loyalty programmes, to A2A payments.

●      Shared protection: Fraud detection and spending limits can cover both cards and A2A, using the same authentication. Real-time payments need strong controls, such as payee verification and transaction monitoring.

●      A single view of activity: Bringing both payment types into one operating environment gives a more consistent picture of transactions.

How HPS supports a more unified payments environment

PowerCARD allows banks to bring card and instant-payment flows onto one platform, with a real-time 360-degree view of transactions. For example, a bank can add an A2A wallet to its product pack and use it to:

●      cover wallet payments under its card assistance and insurance programme

●      monitor fraud and set common spending limits for cards and wallet

●      apply the same authentication to wallet and e-commerce card purchases

●      let customers earn loyalty points on both.

PowerCARD also supports account-to-account payment platforms at national level. In one country’s instant payments system, PowerCARD-Switch and PowerCARD-ACH enable transfers starting with a bank account number (IBAN) or from a mobile wallet. Built on our standard interfaces and ISO messaging, the platform uses APIs that make integration simpler and faster for participants. A national QR code registry lets merchants accept payments over the same instant rail.

Ultimately, HPS’s “Glass to Ledger” vision links customer channels (mobile, web, ATM and wallets) to the transactional and accounting core. By combining PowerCARD with BankWorld, our digital banking platform, we give banks an integrated “front-to-core” architecture. This reduces integration effort, shortens time-to-market, improves the user experience and helps contain IT costs.

Preparing for a multi-rail future

Cards remain the largest category in a multi-rail market, and A2A and instant payments are now strategically important within it. An integrated, modular architecture helps banks support this growing mix while keeping visibility and control.

PowerCARD is built for exactly that. Together with our wider digital banking capabilities, it is designed to support card, account-based and digital payment flows within one front-to-core environment.

To find out how PowerCARD can bring your A2A and card payments together, contact the HPS Sales team at sales@hps-worldwide.com or request a demo.