UK Banks Complete ‘Roadmap for Open Banking’

British banking providers have completed their Roadmap for Open Banking.

That’s according to an announcement Monday (Sept. 9) from Open Banking Limited (OBL), which had gotten confirmation on the completed roadmap from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

This means that the nine banking providers mandated by the CMA under the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order have completed the roadmap “and associated required functionality to offer the full suite of open banking payment and account information services,” OBL said.

Among the roadmap requirements achieved by the final banks on the CMA’s list include variable recurring payments (VRPs) for sweeping, OBL added in a news release provided to PYMNTS.

“This development brings enhanced financial control, smarter payments, and greater flexibility to all customers across the United Kingdom,” the release said.

“The delivery of VRP for sweeping functionality opens significant opportunities for fintechs to collaborate with these banking providers, introducing new and innovative financial services to their customers.”

The group also notes that this year has been one “rapid adoption and strong growth” for open banking, which had 11.32 million users in July, up 12% from the prior month.

More than 19 million open banking payments were made in July, OBL added, with VPRs for sweeping accounting for 2.45 million, representing growth of nearly 24%.

VRPs are a payment method that allows customers to connect authorized payment providers to their bank account to make payments on their behalf “in line with agreed limits,” according to the CMA. Another U.K. regulator, the Payment Systems Regulator, is exploring expanding their use.

Meanwhile, recent research by PYMNTS Intelligence and Trustly finds a gap between interest among consumers in open banking and how much they are actually using it.

While 46% of American adults showed strong interest in open banking payments, only 11% of them have used it, the study found.

“This gap is primarily due to limited awareness and security concerns, highlighting a significant opportunity for growth if these challenges are addressed,” PYMNTS wrote, adding that many consumers would be more inclined to use open banking payments if offered discounts.

“By integrating these incentives into their offerings, open banking providers can enhance appeal and encourage wider adoption,” the report said.

“As consumers become more familiar with the benefits of open banking, their satisfaction levels rise, particularly among frequent users, with 82% of those using the payment method more than 15 times in the past year expressing high satisfaction.”