The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) head of department, open banking & open finance has said that account-to-account (A2A) and Open Banking payments stand on the cusp of becoming an ubiquitous option for consumers, merchants and businesses in the UK.

Speaking at the Open Banking Expo in London on Tuesday, Andrew Self told the audience that the move towards Open Banking becoming a day-to-day payment option for Brits forms part of the next phase of work that his team currently has a “laser focus" on.

The department head said that in 2026 he expects to see variable recurring payments (VRPs) become more prevalent across e-commerce, with the payment method potentially even available in stores.

VRPs are an Open Banking-powered payment method that lets customers connect authorised payments providers to their bank account to make payments on their behalf in line with agreed limits.

Speaking about an announcement earlier this year which revealed that 31 organisations from across the financial services sector have committed to funding the creation of a new company that will take forward the initial phase of commercial variable recurring payments (cVRPs), Self said that the regulator is "really encouraged" by the industry-led progress on VRPs.

He went on to say that the next two to three months will be really important for the market, with great progress expected towards the and of the year.

"People across the sector and certainly sitting here in this room, have engaged incredibly positively and candidly as we’ve moved forward to try and get VRP phase one moving forward in the industry," Self told delegates from across the Open Banking market. "We want to see that continued drive as we look to realise government’s ambitions which were set out in the national payments vision.

"One of the key pillars for that vision is the delivery of commercial VRPs, we're really pleased to see evidence of industry taking this up and driving this forward."

He added that the VRP rollout marks the first step towards realising Open Banking's full potential across payments.

Self also highlighted some of the wider benefits of payment options such as A2A payments, including instant refunds.

“We want to see these benefits realised quickly in a way that supports effective competition, to do so, we need to see industry developing and potential VPR scheme operators adopting a sustainable commercial model for open banking that will appropriately rewards everyone involved," he said.

The comments follow the publication of figures by Open Banking Limited (OBL) last month which show that 15.16 million people and businesses used Open Banking in July, or almost one in three adults

OBL was set up by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to create innovative technology (APIs), data standards, and the governance structures enabling the UK to implement Open Banking.

The implementation entity said that Open Banking services were used a record 2.04 billion times in July, up 3.5 per cent compared to the previous month.

Open Banking adoption has risen steadily year on year, with the total number of users having grown by 34 per cent in the past year.

OBL said at the time that these results reflect growing consumer demand for secure, convenient, and transparent financial solutions, and continues a multi-year trend that has seen Open Banking move from a niche innovation to a core part of modern financial services.

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