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Insights and Expertise
Balancing act: Could A2A wallets Spotlighting companies that promote
finally compete in-store? innovation in the payments industry
By Nick Saywell scape is poised for a fundamental shift—one that could
PSE Consulting challenge the dominance of cards in face-to-face transac-
tions.
n the third quarter of 2024, third-party developers Moving away from the giants?
were granted access to NFC technology on iOS in
a game-changing decision between the European Nordic, Spanish and Polish markets are quickly adopting
I Union Commission and Apple. This milestone could A2A in-store payments, but Europe's biggest economies
revolutionize account-to-account (A2A) payment applica- are lagging. Wero, the pan-European A2A initiative, won't
tions, enabling them to deliver a smoother, tap-to-pay roll out in-store solutions until 2026. In the UK, no A2A
functionality that has previously been limited to tradi- wallet has made any progressive consumer traction yet,
tional card-based mobile wallets. with only early proofs of concept so far.

Previously, onboarding A2A within stores had been re- The delay could lead to an uneven market, where smaller
stricted to QR codes and multiple authentication steps, nations push ahead while larger economies fall behind.
making the process sluggish and cumbersome. This fric-
tion hindered adoption, as A2A lacked the ease of contact- Ready to meet upcoming challenges
less card transactions. Now, with NFC access unlocked Ahead of domestic adoption, the real challenge for A2A
on both Apple and Android devices, A2A payments are
poised to compete in the in-store payments landscape. wallets will be cross-border payments. While Wero’s ex-
pansion plans remain uncertain, some interoperability

The contactless revolution opportunity initiatives are already making progress: Custom pages on our high-tra c website showcasing
• EuroPA: A collaboration between Bizum (Spain),
The flexibility that contactless payments offer is one of Bancomat Pay (Italy) and MB Way (Portugal) com-
the major reasons why very few users still carry physical your company’s unique message
cards: consumers love the ease associated with this pay- pleted its first cross-border transaction in late 2024.
ment method. Studies noted by This is MONEY show that • EMPSA Alliance: Bancomat Pay (Italy), Twint • Your own, customized News from the Wire that highlights
up to 93 percent of store card payments are contactless in (Switzerland) and Bluecode (Austria) are working
the UK, demonstrating a real shift in customer behaviors on creating a cross-border A2A network. stories about your company
and expectations when it comes to in-store payments.
Nonetheless, there are concerns about the long-term sus-
If all smartphone users, not just those with Android devic- tainability of these partnerships, with some believing a • Featured content: updated monthly, either by your in-house
es, could use contactless A2A payments, the momentum unified solution like Wero could offer better scalability, writers or by one of ours
could shift dramatically. Merchants, too, would be more innovation and efficiency than a patchwork approach.
willing to embrace these apps if they knew that the major-
ity of their customers could use them. Now that NFC access is unlocked, A2A wallets are ready • Custom infographics and videos
to compete with cards in-store. Whether they challenge

Competing with Apple Pay in 2024, Vipps MobilePay the card model or stay a niche option will depend on how • Premier content placement in each issue of e Green Sheet
launched the world’s first alternative contactless payments they address both consumer and merchant needs. One
on iPhone. Today, Vipps users in Norway can "tap with thing’s clear—2025 will be a crucial year in redefining • And so much more...
Vipps" in-store, and the company plans to expand into Europe’s payment scene, and the race for in-store transac-
Sweden, Finland and Denmark in 2025 – reaching another tions is just starting.
7.1 million consumers.
Nick Saywell, senior manager at PSE Consulting, started his career
Other A2A wallets are following suit, setting the stage for as a chartered accountant and worked in accountancy in London for
a major shift away from cards as the default in-store pay- 12 years. He has been with PSE for seven years and his focus is on
ment method. Sweden’s Swish, the country's top A2A app, quantitative and qualitative market sizing, data analysis, business case Rick@greensheet.com
upgraded its tap-to-pay feature from Bluetooth to NFC for development/modeling and payments market research. PSE is a lead-
Android users. Spain’s Bizum, used by 55 percent of the
population, is launching Bizum Pay in mid-2025, enabling ing global provider of payment advisory services to players across the
payments via A2A rails or linked cards. Meanwhile, Po- payments landscape. PSE’s expertise has enabled it to deliver action-
land’s Blik, which dominates 45% of the country’s eCom- able market insights and operational optimization to senior payments 707-284-1693
merce market, plans to introduce iOS tap-to-pay in 2025. leaders for over 30 years. To learn more, visit https://pseconsulting.
com/. To reach Nick, connect via LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/nick-
As A2A wallets continue to innovate, the payments land- saywell-5b0b371.
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