A Variable Recurring Payment (VRP) is an Open Banking payment consent that lets a user pre-authorize a series of variable-amount payments to a single payee, without having to re-authenticate at the bank for each individual payment. VRPs are the recurring-payments standard under UK Open Banking, and we’re devoted to making it as smooth as possible for customers to launch with us. VRPs unlock opportunities for consumers to better manage their financial lives, while encouraging companies to build the mechanisms that enable Open Banking adoption and growth.
\nBelow is a list of frequently asked questions by customers to help you prepare.
\nIf you want to find out more about VRPs in general, you can find more information in our docs and our blog.
\nWhich UK banks support VRP today?
\nThe following banks currently support VRP, providing over 90% account coverage.
\n| Institution | \nInstitution ID(s) | \nAccount supported | \n
|---|---|---|
| NatWest | \nins_129441, ins_115643 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Royal Bank of Scotland | \nins_129442, ins_115642 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| First Direct | \nins_81 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| HSBC | \nins_55, ins_118277 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Barclays | \nins_118305, ins_59 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Nationwide Building Society | \nins_60 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Santander | \nins_62 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Danske Bank | \nins_117237, ins_118476 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Lloyds Bank | \nins_118275, ins_128699, ins_61 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Halifax | \nins_117246 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Bank of Scotland | \nins_118276, ins_118274 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Mettle | \nins_126252 | \nBusiness | \n
| Monzo | \nins_117243 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Bank of Ireland | \nins_120185, ins_117236 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
| Allied Irish Bank | \nins_118509, ins_117238 | \nPersonal, Business | \n
What's the difference between sweeping and non-sweeping VRPs?
\nSweeping VRPs automatically move funds between two accounts owned by the same person (me-to-me). Common use cases include:
\nNon-sweeping VRPs let consumers authorize variable-amount transfers from their account to one held by another entity (for example, payments to utilities, government services, or financial services providers). Use case scope and bank coverage have evolved over time under the UK's Open Banking framework — please reach out to our team for current details on what's supported and to discuss whether VRP is a fit for your business. See VRP sweeping definition changes for background.
\nHow do VRPs differ from existing payment initiation transactions?
\nVRPs work in a very similar manner to one-off payments, both from a Plaid perspective and the bank transfer itself.
\nFor a one-off payment, customers create the link token, specifying the terms of the payment (e.g., amount, currency), and the user will then authorize the payment with their bank. The payment is then processed via Faster Payments.
\nFor VRP, customers will first create the consent parameters for the VRP mandate (further details here). The link token is then created in the same way; the user authorizes the VRP consent with the bank and all subsequent VRP payments are processed via Faster Payments. After the consent has been created and authorized, customers can call /payment_initiation/consent/payment/execute to take the first payment immediately.
For VRP Payments (using the consent) — this is slightly different as the user does not need to be present, and such payments can be executed “automatically” once the VRP consent parameters have been agreed. As part of this we have several mechanisms of protection:
\nidempotency_key, which prevents the same payment from being executed multiple timesHow long can a VRP mandate be active for?
\nThere is no limit on the maximum valid end date of a payment consent.
\nIs there an equivalent of the direct debit guarantee for VRPs?
\nVRP follows the same rules as Open Banking payments, with the direct debit guarantee not applying.
\nCustomers are protected under the Payment Services Regulations in relation to unauthorized transactions and where there has been an error in the processing of the payment. This means, except where the payer has acted fraudulently, the payer is not liable for any losses.
\nWhat happens if the account has insufficient funds to make the payment?
\nAs part of making a payment, Plaid is able to do a funds confirmation check with the bank before the payment is attempted. If the account does not have sufficient funds, Plaid will notify the client.
\nWhat happens if a VRP is attempted and fails? Is there a limit on the number/frequency of collection attempts?
\nThere is no limit on the number/frequency outside the consent creation parameters. If a VRP fails, it may be retried.
\nPlaid will adjust rate limits as required to meet client demand.
\nIs there a financial portal available to view transactions/balances?
\nYes, our payments dashboard provides a comprehensive overview of all payments made via Plaid.
\nPlaid offers a market-leading dashboard, which supports enterprises with complex team structures, requiring the ability to break down user management, permissioning, and visibility of key data.
\nPlaid returns all payment statuses both via a back-end response and front-end layout. On the back-end, you can expect to receive webhooks outlining the statuses of payments (see Payment Statuses below). On the front-end, your team will have access to the Plaid Dashboard, which enables the tracking of specific payments, across a number of fields, including:
\nWhat happens if the constraint conditions on a VRP are violated? (e.g., above payment limits)
\nThe payment attempt will fail and a PAYMENT_REJECTED error status will be returned to customers.
What are the payment limits for VRP?
\nThe payment limits for VRP are the same as standard Payment Initiation transactions via Open Banking and will be applied when the payment request is made. If a payment falls outside of these limits, the payment is likely to be rejected by the bank.
\nFor a full list of bank payment limits, please refer to Transaction limits - Pay.UK.
\nDo we anticipate the initial consent will convert lower than standard Payment Initiation?
\nThe initial VRP consent should convert very similarly to a normal open-banking-powered Payment Initiation. The steps a user goes through are effectively the same, with the payment consent replaced by the parameters of the consent but the same redirect to the bank, etc.
\nOnce the consent is set up, clients can benefit from the increased conversion expected given the ability to skip end users being redirected to the bank.
\nWill the bank block the consent creation based on the amount?
\nThe bank will not put in place restrictions when the consent is set up.
\nWhat happens if an end user disputes a transaction?
\nEnd users should reach out to the client in the event of any disputes regarding a VRP payment. End users can also contact their bank.
","user_segment_ids":[]}}