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Visa to launch pay-by-bank payments, an alternative to credit cards

Visa said it plans to launch a dedicated service for bank transfers, skipping credit cards and the traditional direct debit process.

Visa said consumers will be able to monitor these payments more easily and raise any issues by clicking a button in their banking app, giving them a similar level of protection to when they use their cards. "We want to bring pay-by-bank methods into the 21st century and give consumers choice, peace of mind and a digital experience they know and love," Mandy Lamb, Visa's managing director for the U.K. and Ireland, said in a statement Thursday. Visa's buyout of Tink was viewed as a way for it to get ahead of the threat from emerging fintechs building products that allow consumers — and merchants — to avoid paying its card transaction fees.

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