The UK Payments Initiative (UKPI) has announced the launch of “the next generation of open banking payments.
The UKPI garnered a long list of both traditional finance firms and Fintechs.
UKPI said that open banking payments in the UK had grown to more than 37 million payments per month, but the new approach will support automated payments and is designed to scale further.
Richard Koch, Managing Director, UKPI, called the launch a defining moment for payments in the UK. Koch said the service will “work better for everyone.”
The project is said to be emblematic of banks and Fintechs working together to reduce payment costs, while streamlining the process.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority said the launch supports greater competition and innovation.
“We want to see competition between commercial open banking schemes and expect the launch of the first scheme by UKPI to act as a catalyst for other initiatives to emerge.
To strengthen this next phase of open banking, we are supporting industry efforts to establish an independent standards-setting body, and – subject to legislation expected to give us new powers – will consult on a long-term regulatory framework by the end of 2026.”
Mark Fieldhouse, CRO at Form3, shared a comment on UKPI stating that resilience and planning are immediate priorities for financial firms.
“Over the past decade, much of the financial infrastructure across the UK and Europe has consolidated within global organisations. But now is the moment for the UK to move quickly and build strong domestic capability while contributing to a more diverse and competitive global landscape,” said Fieldhouse.
He stated that reliability is necessary to challenge the Visa and Mastercard model.
“Securing buy-in from the four largest UK banks alongside challengers like Monzo and Revolut gives this scheme significant weight. But buy-in is just the beginning. Account-to-account payments are only as resilient as the infrastructure beneath them, and payments infrastructure must be built on the assumption that it simply cannot fail,” Fieldhouse said.