UK Payments Initiative Ltd (UKPI) went live at the Money2020 conference, with founding shareholders including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, Monzo, Revolut, Starling, GoCardless, TrueLayer and Wise’s peers across the open banking sector.

The scheme establishes a shared rulebook, commercial model and operational standards for flexible, automated and recurring account-to-account payments, powered by open banking.

Open banking payments have grown quickly, with more than 37 million processed each month, but the vast majority remain one-off transactions, which has limited their appeal as a substitute for cards. UKPI’s scheme is designed to change that by enabling recurring and variable payments to businesses and government on a consistent, scalable basis.

Consumers will be able to approve regular or variable payments straight from their bank account without sharing card details, with collection capped at limits they set, and the framework includes safeguards and dispute processes intended to build trust.

Richard Koch, managing director of UK Payments Initiative, said: “This marks a defining moment for the next evolution of payments in the United Kingdom.

“This is about creating a payment model that works better for everyone, giving people more control and reducing friction for businesses.

“Our commercial approach will allow us to develop from these first customer journeys to subscription models and wider ecommerce.”

The scheme is also positioned to support the UK government’s National Payments Vision by scaling new use cases for open banking, with initial applications covering payments to government, utilities, charities and financial services.

UKPI says its rulebook has been finalised between participating institutions and that the initiative is now moving into market rollout following live proving. Early adopters include investment platforms such as Trading 212 and IG Group, alongside East Lothian Housing Association.