New Pay by Bank offering powers Amazon purchases directly from shoppers' UK bank accounts

Amazon has launched Pay by Bank, a new payment method on amazon.co.uk that allows customers to complete retail purchases directly from their UK bank accounts, with the ability to do so for their Prime membership coming soon.

This avoids the need to enter or store card details by establishing a connection between customers and their existing banks. Security is maintained through the customer's own banking app, using their established biometric authentication or PIN verification systems.

The service also offers refund processing, promising the return of funds to customers' bank accounts within minutes after Amazon confirms receipt of returned items.

“Pay by Bank gives customers a new payment option, and a number of benefits including faster refunds," says Jonathan Boumphrey, Country Manager for UK & Ireland at Amazon. “It takes just seconds to setup and is part of our continuous work to enhance the shopping experience for customers and provide even more ways to pay securely.”

“The streamlined setup process takes just seconds, with customers selecting their bank from a list that includes more than 99% of UK banks. Pay by Bank also provides a checkout experience that customers will find familiar if they use mobile banking apps, but with the added advantage of expedited refunds and permanent payment credentials.”

The move supports the UK's National Payment Vision framework, which encourages the adoption of account-to-account (A2A) payments in e-commerce as part of the country's push to foster more efficient, secure, and competitive payment options for consumers and businesses.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Payments will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.