The “pay-by-bank” payment method, which bypasses credit or debit cards and allows users to move funds directly to the recipient, has become increasingly popular in international markets, but faces challenges in US retail, according to PaymentsDive.
Pay-by-bank at POS is common in the international retail industry, such as in Brazil and India. Real-time payment systems UPI and Pix have expanded their operations in these countries for everyday transactions.
The reason for the slow adoption of pay-by-bank at checkout in the US is because of limited changes to in-store check-out interfaces and because US shoppers are most comfortable paying via card. However, these hurdles may be worth overcoming for retailers who want to ditch steep swipe fees that come with card transactions.
Primary use of the pay-by-bank method in the US has been for out-of-store transactions where check payments are common such as for rent, utilities and healthcare.
“The point of sale is not the initial place where it will start,” Ashley Cornall, Payments Product Manager at Plaid, told PaymentsDive. “People are already paying by bank. The most common one is bill-pay.”
Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
