The announcement relates to plans to use technology to help develop new services that will give consumers and businesses more choice in how they make and receive payments safely and securely
Regulators have outlined the next steps in their plans to enable people to take greater control of their regular bills and minimise the risk of unexpected payments.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) announced plans to utilise technology to develop new services that will provide consumers and businesses with more options for making and receiving payments safely and securely.
Variable recurring payments could allow individuals to control how much can be paid at once or over a month, thus reducing the risk of unexpected payments, according to the regulators. Live services are expected to be available for those paying utility companies and financial services firms, among others.
The regulators announced on Thursday that Open Banking Limited will play a crucial role in establishing a new independent company to oversee how variable recurring payments are made. Open banking enables people to securely share their information to simplify money management, or to find financial products or services that better suit their needs.
The regulators hailed open banking as “a UK success story with over 11.7 million active users and over 22.1 million open banking payments made monthly”. The FCA and PSR stated they will continue to work closely together and “look forward to significant progress being made in 2025”.
