[Glossary](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary) A2A # What is A2A? A2A A2A means account-to-account: money that moves from one bank or wallet account to another without a card network. ACH, RTP, FedNow, SEPA, and Pix are A2A rails. A ledger still sits in the middle. The rail moves bank money. The book records who you owe. ## How does A2A work? The payer’s institution sends a credit, or the payee’s institution pulls a debit, on a bank rail. No card issuer, no interchange. Settlement follows that rail’s rules: batch and returnable, or instant and usually final. ## A2A vs cards Cards add an issuer, a network, and chargebacks. A2A adds bank cutoffs, return codes, and account numbers. Your product can offer both. Do not post them to the same clearing account without a rail tag. Returns and chargebacks are different events. ## Where does the ledger sit? Before the send, you reserve the wallet. After the rail settles, you commit. If you only watch the bank, you cannot tell which customer funded the payout. A2A without a book is a statement, not a product. ## How it works with Blnk Pick a rail, then post the same shape you use for any payout: wallet to a named clearing balance, inflight until the rail finishes. Name the destination for the rail, such as `@PayoutUSD_ACH` or `@PayoutUSD_RTP`. Draw the rail on the [money movement map](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/ledgers/money-movement-map). Related terms - [Payment rail](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/payment-rail) - [ACH](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/ach) - [RTP](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/rtp) - [Wallet](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/wallet) - [Open-loop payment system](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/open-loop-payment-system)