On 2 June 2026, the launch of the UK Payments Initiative (UKPI) was announced intended to take forward innovation in open banking and commercial variable recurring payments.
Summary
The new scheme is intended to enable recurring and automated payments to businesses and government, in a way that is consistent, scalable, and designed for widespread adoption. In particular, for consumers, this means being able to approve regular or variable payments directly from their bank account without sharing card details or relying on traditional direct debit. In addition, payments can only be taken within the limits agreed by the consumer, giving them greater control over who can collect money, how much can be taken, and how long that permission lasts.
UKPI’s scheme establishes a shared rulebook, commercial model and operational standards for flexible, automated, or recurring account-to-account payments, powered by open banking. The new scheme is also intended to support the ambitions set out in the UK Government’s National Payments Vision by enabling new use cases for open banking payments at scale.
Finally, an important aspect of this development is that the UKPI scheme is an industry lead initiative with the participation of major UK banks and building societies alongside fintech firms, and the scheme’s rulebook has been finalised between participating institutions, with the initiative now moving into broader rollout after testing.