Hullabaloo around VRPs grows with "first consumer payment transaction" in UK

The hullabaloo around Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) appears to be growing by the day, with TrueLayer announcing that the first consumer VRP transaction has been made in the UK.

VRPs which allow consumers to authorise third parties to initiate payments from their bank account on an on-going basis have been touted as the next frontier in open banking.

The open banking platform said The Credit Thing, a UK challenger in the credit space, has made the first UK VRP transactions via TrueLayer's recurring API. No details of the amount involved were available due to privacy reasons.

The partnership between the Credit Thing and TrueLayer allows consumers to make VRPs with HSBC and some other banks.

Advocates of VRPs say that recurring payments can be made in seconds, unlike credit cards which can take days to process.

Colin Holingsbee, CIO for The Credit Thing, said: “Could this be the beginning of the end for Direct Debits? VRP is a real game-changer. 

“This isn’t innovation for the sake of it. It delivers meaningful benefits - consumers are firmly in control, the service is secure and user friendly, the cost of service is ultra competitive, and regular payment approval rates are likely to be phenomenal.”

Matt Parish, product lead for VRP at TrueLayer, said: “This is a significant day for the UK payments industry - the first business using variable recurring payments to deliver a better consumer experience.”

Earlier this month, high street bank NatWest  became the first UK bank to offer VRP as a recurring payment option through a partnership with three open banking providers.

Also this month, GoCardless struck its first VRP customer, Nude.