GoCardless launches Recurring Pay by Bank, backing the UK Payments Initiative’s new open banking scheme

GoCardless, a bank payment company, has supported the launch of a new industry-led payments scheme designed to power the next generation of open banking payments in the UK. The scheme, operated by the UK Payments Initiative (UKPI), is now live following investments from banks, building societies, and fintech firms, including GoCardless.

Introducing Recurring Pay by Bank: A new open banking-powered payment solution

The launch paves the way for Recurring Pay by Bank, GoCardless’ open banking-powered payment solution that enables recurring, flexible, and automated bank payments. This innovation, announced at Money 20/20, aligns with the UK’s National Payment Vision, which aims to foster greater competition, innovation, and resilience by driving widespread adoption of account-to-account (A2A) payments.

Card payments dominate UK retail, making up 84% of spending and costing businesses £1.5 billion each year in fees, primarily due to Visa and Mastercard’s near-duopoly. 

This new payment method presents an opportunity to build independent, domestic payment rails that reduce costs and increase efficiency.

GoCardless research highlights the strong market appetite for recurring open banking payments. 89% of recurring revenue businesses believe the technology would significantly improve cash flow, while 91% expect it to reduce operational costs.

49% of businesses intend to be early adopters, and 38% of consumers would be open to trying Recurring Pay by Bank, rising to 60% among Gen Z.

With the scheme now live, recurring open banking payments can be used across sectors, including public services, utilities, charities, financial services, and more.

Shaun Puckrin, Chief Product Officer at GoCardless, said, “For a long time, the UK has been waiting for a genuine alternative to traditional card payments. By launching an industry-wide scheme for Recurring Pay by Bank, we will bring real competition to a market that’s been dominated for decades by a costly card duopoly. This milestone establishes the UK as a country that owns its financial future.” 

We’re creating payments infrastructure that is modern, competitive, and free from over-reliance on external networks. Built on APIs for easy instruction and real-time execution, it is ideally placed to become the foundation of agentic commerce—where AI agents, automated systems, and instant payments converge.”

“It’s a response to enormous market demand, and a shift that will change the way money moves for everyone.”

Richard Koch, Managing Director at UKPI, said, “The launch of this scheme is a significant step forward as we build a faster, fairer payment ecosystem that unlocks genuine choice for businesses and consumers. Having GoCardless at the table brings 15 years of account-to-account expertise right into the heart of this initiative.”

“Their experience is vital as we move forward, helping us turn open banking payments into a practical tool that people will trust and use every single day.”

Early industry adoption and features

In March, GoCardless completed the first recurring open banking transaction during the industry’s ‘live testing’ phase, processing payments on behalf of Jellyfish Energy. 

GoCardless has created Recurring Pay by Bank to address initial market challenges and offer businesses a dependable platform for immediate use, even in the early stages of its rollout.

Key features include full payer coverage from day one via ‘intelligent routing’ that automatically shifts payers to Direct Debit if open banking is unavailable. It also includes ‘Bank guess’ feature leveraging 15 years of data on 80% of UK payers to auto-fill payment details, streamlining checkout. Another feature is industry-leading uptime, ensuring reliable service, a critical factor for early adopters

This collaboration could transform UK payments by offering a scalable, secure, and cost-effective alternative to card payments, enhancing recurring payment experiences for both businesses and consumers.