This expansion comes after NatWest announced earlier in 2021its migration of all its debit card portfolios to Mastercard. PbBa will be available to over 21 million UK mobile banking apps and will be free to use by the end of next year.

According to NatWest, the app allows customers to pay securely online, while removing the need to create additional accounts, logins or passwords. When a consumer is paying on mobile or desktop, they can simply click the PbBa button at checkout.

Additionally, payments will also be leveraging fast Automated Clearing House (ACH) technology to process and settle in near real-time, giving users rapid insights and updates about their bank balance before and after transactions.

Salim Secretary, head of Payment Schemes and Partnerships at NatWest Group comments: “At NatWest we are committed to offering our customers a choice of ways to pay that best suit their individual needs. We are pleased to be expanding our relationship with Mastercard to offer PbBa as another option for our customers to pay – offering additional choice and convenience.”

NatWest points out that users can use PbBa with more than one banking app, giving consumers greater choice in online payments. Furthermore, Mastercard are currently building PbBa’s file functionality, which will eventually enable one-click and deferred payments, as well as payments for subscriptions.

Suren Nawalkar, senior vice president, Consumer Applications at Mastercard states: “PbBa is the next evolution in online payments and this partnership with NatWest will make it available to even more people across the UK.”

“PbBa not only makes online shopping easier and more secure, but the real-time payments and account balance updates give users greater oversight of their finances – something increasingly important during the current economic climate. Its integration with existing banking apps also removes friction for shoppers when having to download additional apps or enter new login details.”