Stripe Expands Pay by Bank to France & Germany – But Can It Dethrone the Card?
Stripe, a global provider of payments software to businesses, has expanded its offering of account-to-account (A2A) payments to Germany and France through a continued partnership with TrueLayer, an Open Banking platform.
Stripe’s A2A product, called Pay by Bank, uses TrueLayer’s Open Banking infrastructure which connects bank accounts across Europe; enabling merchants to accept transactions directly from a customer’s bank account. This expansion follows the success of Stripe and TrueLayer partnering to offer the same service in the UK in September 2024. There is reason for Stripe to be optimistic about this expansion, with TrueLayer already processing €2 billion ($2.4 billion) of Pay by Bank transactions in France and €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) in Germany.
Advantages of Pay by Bank
There are several advantages for merchants accepting payments by Pay by Bank over traditional payment methods.
One of the primary advantages is the lower transaction fees, especially when compared to card networks. The cost of card transaction fees is significant to businesses, as it is the most common form of consumer payments in the markets in which Stripe has so far launched Pay by Bank.
Another important advantage for merchants is the lack of chargebacks on Pay by Bank.
Chargebacks, both legitimate and fraudulent, represent a significant cost for many merchants. The large increase in fraudulent chargebacks in recent years has only increased the burden. Even when a fraudulent claim is beaten by a merchant, it takes time. This is a time when the merchant does not have access to the payments; interrupting cashflow which can push businesses to rely on financing, further increasing costs. Chargebacks also require a merchant to allocate resources to fight the chargeback, whether that is staff spending time putting together evidence, or the merchant spending money on a chargeback management platform to undertake this task.
Another benefit of Pay by Bank is its increased security. In the markets Stripe is targeting, there are clear Open Banking regulations, as well as the requirement for strong customer authentication from the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2). These, together with the fact banks employ their own strong anti-fraud systems, mean that Pay by Bank is relatively resistant to fraud.
These advantages are more attractive to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as these costs represent a larger proportion of costs for merchants of this size, compared to large enterprises and multinationals who are more able to absorb the additional costs. As Stripe’s primary customer base are SMEs, this makes Pay by Bank a particularly valuable addition to its payments acceptance offering.
Another advantage for merchants is customer satisfaction, given the convenience that Pay by Bank provides. To pay using Pay by Bank online, the consumer simply has to select the Pay by Bank option at checkout and then verify their identity. This is quicker than manually entering payment card details and can be more secure as it can be verified using biometric verification. Likewise, refunded monies can be back in the customer’s bank account within seconds, minimising a too-often significant cause of frustration for consumers.
Juniper Research expects that these advantages will drive an 80% growth in the number of online A2A payments users between 2025 and 2029.
Total Global Online A2A Payment Users (m), 2025 vs. 2029
Source: Juniper Research
Challenges of Pay by Bank
Despite these advantages, Pay by Bank is not without its challenges.
The most significant challenge is consumer attitude. Many consumers are simply not aware of Pay by Bank as a payments option. Those who are aware of it may not fully understand what exactly it is or understand the advantages it offers over traditional payment methods. This compounds with consumers’ existing preference for card payments. Consumers are familiar with cards and trust them to be secure. There is also consumer protection in place, in markets such as the UK; ensuring that consumers get their money back if they are a victim of fraud that was not their fault. This makes any security advantages of Pay by Bank less of a concern for consumers.
Another disadvantage of Pay by Bank, compared to credit cards, is its inability to extend lines of credit or offer rewards for its use. This means those who use credit cards are very unlikely to give up these benefits for the additional convenience of using Pay by Bank.
A limitation of the payment method is its reliance on Open Banking regulation to enable it, without needing to partner with the consumer’s bank. Without Open Banking, the process of enabling Pay by Bank is significantly complicated, and banks’ unwillingness to partner to allow this can significantly restrict coverage. This means Pay by Bank is unlikely to gain much traction in any market that does not have Open Banking regulations to support this payment method.
Another challenge is facilitating cross-border transactions using Pay by Bank. Due to Pay by Bank’s reliance on regulations facilitating the payment method, there are markets, such as the US, where merchants are less likely to accept it. Equally, for merchants that have many international customers, a proportion of these customers will not have Pay by Bank supported in their country. This contrasts with the major card networks, where merchants will have customers in nearly every market and facilitate cross-border transactions between them regularly. This is not an issue within the EU, as all countries have the same Open Banking regulation, as do other countries which have signed up for regulatory alignment.
Pay by Bank is gaining traction in markets where the regulatory framework is in place. Partnerships, such as the one between Stripe and TrueLayer, will further boost this payment method, with it becoming easier for merchants to accept these payments. Juniper Research expects that Pay by Bank will continue to grow over the coming years, especially if Pay by Bank providers focus on raising awareness among consumers. However, it will be quite some time before it becomes a true competitor to the major card networks.
As a Senior Research Analyst, Michael delivers in-depth insights into the fast-evolving worlds of digital identity and payments. His recent work spans critical topics such as Digital Wallets, Digital Identity, and Instant Payments; helping industry leaders navigate change and identify new opportunities.
Latest research, whitepapers & press releases
-
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Instant Payments Market: 2025-2030
Juniper Research’s Instant Payments research suite provides a wide-ranging and strategic analysis of this market; enabling stakeholders - from banks, infrastructure providers, regulators, and businesses - to understand future growth, key trends, and the competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Anti-money Laundering Systems Market: 2025-2030
Our AML Systems research suite provides a detailed and insightful analysis of this evolving market; enabling stakeholders from financial institutions, law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies and technology vendors to understand future growth, key trends, and the competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
A2A Payments Market: 2025-2030
Our A2A Payments research suite provides detailed analysis of this rapidly changing market; enabling A2A payments service providers to gain an understanding of key payment trends and challenges, potential growth opportunities, and the competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Telecoms & Connectivity
Mobile Messaging Fraud Prevention Market: 2025-2030
Our Mobile Messaging Fraud Prevention research suite provides a detailed and insightful analysis of a market set for significant disruption over the next five years. It enables stakeholders from mobile operators, enterprises, and mobile messaging fraud prevention vendors to understand how the market for mobile messaging fraud will evolve, as well as the impact of AI, RCS, and the evolving competitive environment.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Sustainability & Smart Cities
Smart Grid Market: 2025-2030
Our cutting-edge Smart Grid research suite provides a comprehensive view of a market at the forefront of the global energy transition. It examines the major disruptions transforming the sector, from the integration of distributed energy resources and the rise of virtual power plants to the growing role of AI-driven intelligence and the mounting need for robust cyber security and compliance.
VIEW -
ReportSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
eCommerce Payments Market: 2025-2030
Juniper Research’s eCommerce Payments research suite provides a comprehensive and insightful analysis of this market; enabling stakeholders, from eCommerce payment platform providers to merchants and payment service providers, to understand future growth, key trends, and the competitive environment.
VIEW
-
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Ascending-to-Ailing: The Deceleration of A2A Adoption
Our complimentary whitepaper, Ascending-to-Ailing: The Deceleration of A2A Adoption, examines the state of the A2A payments market; considering the impact of this payment method and how it is shaping the modern payments landscape through lower fees and enriched user experience.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Telecoms & Connectivity
RCS Fraud: Emerging Threats in Next-gen Messaging
Our complimentary whitepaper, RCS Fraud: Emerging Threats in Next-gen Messaging, examines the future of the messaging fraud prevention market, with a particular focus on the latest trends within RCS Business Messaging (RBM). Additionally, it includes a forecast summary of the total cost of fraud over RBM to subscribers in 2030.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025
Decentralising the Smart Grid: Opportunities & Challenges
Our complimentary whitepaper, Decentralising the Smart Grid: Opportunities & Challenges, explores how distributed energy resources, renewable integration, and virtual power plants are reshaping grid management.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Fintech & Payments
Going Glocal ~ Why Local Payment Methods Are Driving eCommerce
Our complimentary whitepaper, Going Glocal ~ Why Local Payment Methods Are Driving eCommerce, assesses how local payment methods are driving the increasing accessibility to eCommerce, and challenges to eCommerce growth.
VIEW -
WhitepaperSeptember 2025Telecoms & Connectivity
Operator Success Strategies in A2P Messaging for 2026
Our complimentary whitepaper, Operator Success Strategies in A2P Messaging for 2026, examines the outlook of the A2P messaging market over the next five years.
VIEW -
WhitepaperAugust 2025Fintech & Payments
Synthetic Identity Fraud: The Lurking Threat to Modern Banking
Our complimentary whitepaper, Synthetic Identity Fraud: The Lurking Threat to Modern Banking, examines the current fraud landscape; explaining the role of key actors in the fraud prevention landscape, and recent developments within the fraud prevention industry.
VIEW
-
Fintech & Payments
B2B Payments to Hit $224 Trillion by 2030 Globally, Driven by Emerging Market Expansion
September 2025 -
Fintech & Payments
A2A Transaction Value to Reach $195 Trillion in 2030 Globally, Driven by Advanced Value-added Services
September 2025 -
Telecoms & Connectivity
ReveNet: Operators Must Act to Restore Trust & Transparency to $55bn A2P SMS Ecosystem
September 2025 -
Telecoms & Connectivity
RCS Business Messaging Fraud to Cost Mobile Subscribers $4.3 Billion Globally Over the Next 5 Years
September 2025 -
Sustainability & Smart Cities
Smart Grids to Support 43% of Global Electricity Supply by 2030, Driven by Virtual Power Plants
September 2025 -
Telecoms & Connectivity
Calling All Telecoms & Connectivity Innovators: 2026 Future Digital Awards Now Open for Entries
September 2025