Plaid Pilots Payments Tool to Streamline Recurring Payments

Plaid has launched a tool in beta to improve variable recurring payments (VRPs) for individual consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom, according to a Tuesday (July 26) company blog post.

VRP was introduced in 2021 and gives users the ability to authenticate once so that future automated payments can take place without additional verification, the post stated.

By way of example, Plaid said that payments super app Expensify simplified its processes with VRP by streamlining the way it manages money across expenses, corporate cards and bills. Plaid’s VRP allowed Expensify to automatically pull varying repayments from its customers’ business accounts to settle card balances, according to the post.

“When we set out to launch the Expensify Card in the U.K., we chose to partner with Plaid because VRPs are the best way to securely and quickly move money in the U.K.,” said Sophie Pinto-Raetz, head of the Expensify Card launch in the U.K., in the post “Our aim is to bring the Expensify Card to the U.K. as quickly as possible while maintaining the same industry-leading standards as our U.S. version of the card: a direct and seamless integration with the Expensify app, easy options to automate card payment, and transparency throughout the entire expense and pre-accounting process.”

See also: How ‘Invisible’ Tech Is Revolutionizing the US Banking System

Pinto-Raetz said in the post that Plaid’s cross-Atlantic presence means Expensify Card’s customers can get faster payments across one platform.

“VRP requires immense collaboration with financial institutions and policymakers,” the post stated. “Plaid’s origins in North America mean our team has deep expertise managing relationships and work streams with thousands of financial institutions on open banking, such as educating them on the value of setting up [application programming interfaces (APIs)]. Similarly, our policy team is working hand-in-hand with regulators in the EU to broaden PSD2 to include a VRP equivalent.”

Earlier this month, Plaid began supporting digital asset exchanges to meet the needs of the growing number of people using cryptocurrencies. Binance.US, Gemini, Robinhood and SoFi are initially being supported on the Plaid network, with Blockchain.com, BitGo and others being added later this year.

Read more: Plaid Adds Support for Digital Asset Exchanges