Almost half of UK consumers are unfamiliar with the term “Pay by Bank” a new survey has found.
According to the inaugural Yaspa Index – an annual report tracking consumer familiarity with ‘Pay by Bank’ – one of the many terms used to describe instant account-to-account payments powered by open banking.
The Yaspa Index surveyed more than 2,000 UK adults and provides an in-depth analysis of emerging payment trends, consumer behaviour, and the evolving digital payments landscape.
Download the Yaspa Index 2025 at: https://content.yaspa.com/yaspa-index-2025
Kate Marsden, CMO at Yaspa, comments: “Open banking has the potential to revolutionise payments, offering faster, more secure, and cost-effective transactions. However, our research highlights a key challenge: naming conventions matter. ‘Pay by Bank’ is gaining traction, but its meaning remains ambiguous to many consumers. The Yaspa Index 2025 serves as a benchmark for industry awareness and provides valuable insights for businesses looking to optimise their payment offerings.”
The study finds that, despite the rapid adoption of open banking, the findings highlight a significant knowledge gap:
- 55% of UK adults report familiarity with the term ‘Pay by Bank’, but 45% remain unaware of the phrase despite its growing presence in online checkouts.
- Security (72%) and ease of use (66%) are the top priorities for consumers choosing a payment method.
- QR code payments are on the rise, yet only 27% of respondents used them for transactions in the past year.
- Consumer education remains critical to driving open banking adoption, particularly in high-growth sectors such as gaming and retail.
Why this matters for businesses
As industries such as iGaming and ecommerce seek to improve conversion rates and customer experience, the Yaspa Index highlights a crucial opportunity:
- Bridging the education gap can accelerate adoption and build trust in instant bank payments.
- Agreeing on a universal naming convention will help accelerate familiarity and consumer confidence.
The importance of pay by bank instant payments can also be seen in the numbers. According to a 2024 study by Juniper Research, the instant payments market – where funds are received in 10 seconds or under and confirmation of the payment to the parties is available in one minute – is set to grow by 161%, up from $22trn in 2024, between now and 2028, as open banking, and account to account services see many consumer bypassing card payments entirely.
These payments are also increasingly taking off in developing markets, especially Brazil and India. Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system, leads with projected growth of 35% per year by 2027. UPI (India), PSE (Colombia), mobile money (Kenya, Nigeria and other African countries), as well as digital wallets (across emerging markets) are all also expected to grow annually by 16% to 20% through 2027.
