Anchorage Digital Selects Modern Treasury to Power Money Movement Infrastructure.Learn more →
Account-to-Account (A2A) banking, sometimes also called Me-to-Me banking, is the transfer of funds from one account to another account. While A2A payments typically occur between accounts owned by the same customer, there are several instances in which that is not the case such as a direct debit to pay a utility bill. A2A payments can also be used to transfer funds to and from digital wallets.
The major advantage of A2A payments is that they don’t require an intermediary or a payment instrument like a card to be processed. There are two basic types of A2A payments:
- Push Payments, like bank transfers, which require consumers to manually send or “push” money to another account.
- Pull Payments, like automated recurring debits to pay a bill, where money is “pulled” from an account.
How Does A2A Banking Work?
For A2A banking, the funds transfer can occur between accounts at the same or different banks or even, in some cases, between a bank account and a brokerage account. For A2A transactions, a consumer’s financial institution must have some form of instant payments enrollment.
In the case of a transfer between two bank accounts–even at different financial institutions–A2A banking is straightforward: a customer transfers funds from their savings account to their checking account, for example, the funds are transferred instantly and are available in the checking account right away. This is also how transfers between checking accounts and digital wallets work. Though it is important to keep in mind that not every digital wallet offers this type of A2A transaction, as some digital wallet services still rely on ACH transfers or card payments.
For transfers between a standard checking or savings account and a brokerage account, both financial institutions—for the checking/savings account and the brokerage account—must be equipped to support instant payments. For a consumer with a brokerage account, A2A payments can provide a substantial benefit in allowing them to immediately transfer funds from a checking or savings account to their brokerage account to fund investments in real-time. Historically, transfers to a brokerage account would require consumers to wait several days for the funds to move between their accounts.
To learn more about Faster Payments and Payment Operations, check out these additional resources:
Learn
Explore the fundamentals behind back office finance processes and the accounting principles underlying them.
Gross merchandise volume (GMV), also known as gross merchandise value, is the total value of the goods or services retailers sell over a set period.
ISO 20022 files are a collection of XML-based schemas which standardize any type of financial message.
Month-end close is a critical process where the accounting team reviews and records financial transactions to close out the month.
While both are essential for managing online transactions, there are several differences between payment processors vs. payments gateways.
Revenue recognition is a key accounting principle in which a company records its revenue as it earns it, not necessarily when paid for.
Treasury Management Systems (TMS) are software applications that serve to help businesses simplify their payment operations by automatically tracking things like cash flow, assets, investments, and more.
BAI2 files are a cash management reporting standard. They are widely accepted by banks across the United States for exchanging data regarding balances and transactions.
Incoming payment details are notifications that a company is going to receive a payment it didn’t originate—meaning the receiving funds were not initially requested.
Nacha files are the standardized file format that banks use to initiate and manage batches of ACH payments. These files help banks execute large volumes of ACH payments through The Clearing House (TCH) and Federal Reserve.
Payment controls help accounts payable (AP) departments avoid losing money due to fraud, late payment fees, and other errors. They are a necessary part of a company’s overall payment operations to keep payments secure, accurate, and authorized.
Account-to-Account (A2A) banking, sometimes also called Me-to-Me banking, is the transfer of funds from one account to another account.
Asset risk management is essentially a fusion of asset management and risk management.
Bank reconciliation is the process of verifying the completeness of a transaction through matching a company’s balance sheet to their bank statement.
Batch processing is a method of processing various types of transactions. As the name suggests, transactions are processed in a group or “batch.”
In business terms, float refers to the time delay between the movement of funds from one account to another.
Cash forecasting is a way for companies to look at “cash in” vs. “cash out” for a business over a window of time.
Cash management is the monitoring and maintaining of cash flow to ensure that a business has enough funds to function.
Cash pooling is a centralized cash management tool that companies with multiple subsidiaries sometimes use to optimize the cash balances of all legal entities.
The term "cash position" pertains to the quantity of cash or assets that can be readily converted to cash, held by an individual, company, or financial institution at any given moment.
Continuous accounting is the ongoing process of updating a business’s general ledger with reconciled bank statement transactions as soon as they become available.
Electronic check presentment (ECP) is the process of electronically submitting a check to a bank for payment.
IBAN, or an International Bank Account Number, makes it easier and faster for banks to process cross-border financial transactions.
Liquidity management provides visibility into cash positions over past, present, and future dates and provides an overview of the financial health of a business.
Payment operations is an umbrella term that refers to the entire lifecycle of money movement for a company.
Recoupment refers to the recovery of spent or lost funds, especially in business operations.
Two options for financial transaction settlement—differing in both speed and style—here, we’ll look at how both Net Settlement and Gross Settlement work in action.
Treasury management is the act of managing a company’s daily cash flows and larger-scale decisions when it comes to finances.
A banking API is software that facilitates a digital connection between a company and a bank.
Popular in the banking and finance world, penny tests are a simple way to verify the validity of a bank account or bank integration, prior to a large finance transaction taking place.
Sweep accounts are a particular type of bank account where funds are automatically transferred between different accounts to optimize the use of available cash and maximize returns
Identity Verification APIs allow businesses to streamline the process of checking the identities of new users by automatically, and in some cases instantly, verifying their provided identifying information.
An invoicing API allows companies to create, send, manage, and reconcile invoices, as well as track related payments end to end.
The issuer identification number (IIN) is the first eight or nine digits on a payment card tied to the financial institution that issued the card.
An MT940 (Message Type 940) file is a detailed SWIFT statement that provides information about account transactions.
An OFAC check is a screening process used by financial institutions, businesses, and government agencies to ensure that individuals or entities involved in a transaction are not listed on sanctions lists maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The Flow of Funds is the movement of money in and out of bank accounts.