Next steps for plans to help give people more control over payments set out

Regulators have set out the next steps towards plans to help people take more control of their regular bills and reduce the risk of payments flying out of their accounts unexpectedly.

The announcement from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) relates to plans to use technology to help development new services that will give consumers and businesses more choice in how they make and receive payments safely and securely.

Variable recurring payments could allow people to control how much can be paid at one time or over the course of a month, reducing the risk of unexpected payments, the regulators said.

Live services are expected to be available for those paying utility companies and financial services firms, among others.

The regulators said on Thursday that Open Banking Limited will play a key role in the establishment of a new independent company to coordinate how variable recurring payments are made.

Open banking allows people to securely share their information to make it easier to manage their money, or to find financial products or services that suit them better.

The regulators described open banking as “a UK success story with over 11.7 million active users and over 22.1 million open banking payments made monthly”.

The FCA and PSR said they will continue to work closely together and “look forward to significant progress being made in 2025”.