A variable recurring payment lets your customer give one standing permission, with limits they set, for a business to take repeat payments from their bank account over open banking. Commercial VRPs launched in the UK in June 2026, but the first wave covers sectors such as utilities, financial services and payments to government, not ordinary invoices. For recurring fees today, direct debit is still the method most businesses can use.
In this article
The short version
- A VRP is a standing permission your customer controls in their banking app.
- Commercial VRPs launched in June 2026 for a limited set of sectors.
- Ordinary invoice collection isn't covered yet, and no date is fixed.
- VRPs aren't covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee.
- For recurring fees now, direct debit is still the method to use.
What a VRP is
A VRP is a consent your customer sets up once, inside their own banking app, with limits attached: a maximum per payment, how often payments can be taken and how long the consent lasts. Within those limits, the business can start payments without asking your customer to approve each one. Each payment is still a push from your customer's account over Faster Payments, so it usually arrives within minutes.
Compare that with a direct debit. Under a direct debit, your customer signs a mandate giving you authority to collect from their account, you tell them the amount and date in advance, and the money moves through Bacs over three working days. Under a VRP, the consent sits with your customer's bank, they can see and change it in their app, and the money moves as soon as the payment is made.
VRPs aren't new in every form. The largest UK banks already support "sweeping" VRPs, which move money between a person's own accounts, for example to top up savings. Commercial VRPs, used to pay a business for goods or services, are the newer part.
Where commercial VRPs have got to
On 2 June 2026 the FCA announced that the UK Payments Initiative, an industry scheme for commercial VRPs, had launched. The first wave covers regulated, lower-risk payment types such as utility bills, financial services payments and payments to central and local government.
General invoice collection isn't in that first wave. If you run an accountancy practice, an agency, a trades business or another firm that bills clients for work, you can't move your monthly fees onto VRPs yet. A second wave opening VRPs to wider commerce has been discussed, but no firm date has been set, and the first wave itself arrived later than the regulator first expected. The FCA has also said it will consult on a long-term framework for open banking payments by the end of 2026.
So treat any date you're given for invoicing as a plan, and ask your payment provider directly whether and when your type of business will be in scope.
What VRPs would change for collecting fees
When general collection does arrive, a few things are likely to change for a business billing monthly:
- your customer gives consent in one session in their banking app, without a separate mandate form
- each payment travels over Faster Payments, so it usually lands within minutes instead of following the three-day Bacs cycle
- a fee that changes with hours worked or usage can be collected within the limits your customer set, although the notice you'd need to give will depend on the scheme rules
- your customer can cancel or change the consent online, right up to the moment a payment is made, without contacting you or their bank
That last point gives your customer more control, but it also means a cancellation you'd previously have heard about can happen quietly in an app.
Other things would stay as they are. A customer who decides to stop paying you can cancel a VRP just as they can cancel a mandate, and you're back to chasing an unpaid invoice. And a VRP doesn't come with the Direct Debit Guarantee, which belongs to the Bacs direct debit scheme, so the refund promise your customers know from direct debit doesn't automatically carry across.
What to do in the meantime
Rebuilding your collections around a date that hasn't been confirmed is likely to cost more than it saves, so most businesses are better off using what works today and keeping an eye on the scheme:
- Put recurring fees on direct debit. It's the standing permission you can use now, amounts can vary under one mandate as long as you give notice, and you control the collection date.
- Use pay by bank for one-off invoices, deposits and anything you want paid today. It runs on the same open banking connections as a VRP, approved one payment at a time.
- If you're in utilities, financial services or a government-facing business, ask your provider whether it's part of the first wave.
Adfin collects recurring fees by direct debit and one-off invoices by pay by bank, card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, all from the same invoice, and you can send payment links by email, SMS or WhatsApp. Failed direct debits are retried for free, and Adfin's collection agents can chase anyone who hasn't paid, within the rules you set. If you move collections to a new method later, the invoices, reminders and reconciliation stay in one place.
Common questions
Have commercial VRPs launched in the UK? Yes. The FCA announced the launch of the UK Payments Initiative scheme for commercial VRPs on 2 June 2026.
Can I use VRPs to collect my client fees? Not yet for most businesses. The first wave covers sectors such as utilities, financial services and payments to government, and general invoice collection isn't included.
When will VRPs cover invoices and general commerce? A second wave for wider commerce has been discussed, but no firm date has been set. Treat any date as a plan until your provider confirms it.
How is a VRP different from a direct debit? A VRP is a consent your customer controls in their banking app, with payments pushed over Faster Payments. A direct debit is a mandate giving you authority to collect through Bacs, with advance notice before each collection.
Does a VRP come with the Direct Debit Guarantee? No. The Guarantee belongs to the Bacs direct debit scheme, so it doesn't cover VRP payments.
Can a customer cancel a VRP? Yes. They can cancel or change it online in their banking app at any time before a payment is made, without contacting you.
Sources
- FCA - Open banking takes next step forward with launch of UK Payments Initiative scheme (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/open-banking-launch-uk-payments-initiative-scheme
- Payment Systems Regulator - Commercial VRP: update on delivery, December 2025 (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.psr.org.uk/media/xgjcblmb/cvrp-update-on-delivery-_-dec-2025.pdf
- Open Banking Limited - Variable recurring payments (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.openbanking.org.uk/variable-recurring-payments-vrps/
- Bacs - Direct Debit (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.bacs.co.uk/bacs-schemes/direct-debit/
- Direct Debit - The Direct Debit Guarantee (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-debit-guarantee/
- Adfin - Accept payments (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/accept-payments
