Payments
The state of Open Banking in the UK, 2026: Adoption, payments and a new recurring rail
Over 1 billion open banking payments, 40 million a month, and commercial recurring Pay by Bank now live. The 2026 state of play for UK businesses.
June 2026 was a landmark month for UK open banking.
The ecosystem passed 1 billion payments since launch. And on 2 June, the UK Payments Initiative launched the first commercial scheme for recurring Pay by Bank. It’s the first time businesses can collect variable, repeat payments over open banking under one shared set of rules.
Eight years in, open banking has moved from a regulatory project to everyday payments infrastructure. Here’s where adoption stands in 2026, and why recurring Pay by Bank is the rail to watch.
Where does open banking adoption stand in 2026?
UK open banking now handles more than 40 million payments a month, across 18.8 million user connections, with over 1 billion payments made since it launched in 2018.
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Open banking payments since launch | Over 1 billion | To June 2026 |
| Open banking payments in one month | 40.16 million | June 2026 |
| Recurring payments (variable recurring payments) | 7.73 million, about 19% of all payments | June 2026 |
| User connections | 18.81 million | June 2026 |
| Successful API calls in one month | 2.97 billion | August 2026 |
| Weighted API availability | 99.98% | August 2026 |
Sources: Open Banking Limited, June 2026 performance release and API performance stats, August 2026. User connections count links between people and banking brands, so one person using two banks counts twice.
Three things stand out:
- It’s mainstream. Open banking is no longer niche. Tens of millions of payments a month run on it.
- It’s reliable. The busiest connections were available 99.98% of the time in August 2026.
- Recurring is growing fastest. Variable recurring payments now make up roughly one in five open banking payments.
Is open banking now more about payments than data?
Data sharing still drives most of the traffic, but payments are where the growth and the commercial story now sit.
Open banking does two jobs. It lets regulated providers read account data with a customer’s consent, and it lets them start payments from a customer’s bank account. In August 2026, account data requests made up around 79% of successful API calls (Open Banking Limited).
But payments crossed a threshold this year. June 2026 saw 40.16 million open banking payments. Under the surface, the mix is shifting:
- One-off payments (single domestic payments) dipped 1.2% month on month to 32.43 million.
- Recurring payments (variable recurring payments) rose 6.7% to 7.73 million.
One-off Pay by Bank is maturing. Recurring is where the momentum is.
What is recurring Pay by Bank, and why is it a new rail?
Recurring Pay by Bank, known in the industry as variable recurring payments, lets a customer approve a business once in their banking app and then pay repeat amounts automatically, within limits they set. Since 2 June 2026, businesses in eligible sectors can use it commercially for the first time.
How it works:
- The customer sets up a mandate in their banking app, with limits such as a maximum per payment or per month.
- The business collects payments within those limits, with no need for the customer to approve each one.
- Each payment settles in real time, so the business knows straight away if it worked.
- The customer can see or cancel the mandate at any time in their banking app.
Two kinds of recurring Pay by Bank
| Sweeping | Commercial | |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets paid | The customer’s own accounts, such as moving money into savings | A business, such as a utility, lender or insurer |
| Status | Live for several years | Live since 2 June 2026 (Wave 1) |
| Operated under | Open banking rules for the largest banks | The UK Payments Initiative scheme |
The numbers so far
Recurring payments are open banking’s fastest-growing payment type:
- In October 2025, they made up 15.67% of all open banking payments (Open Banking Limited).
- By June 2026, that rose to about 19%, with 7.73 million payments in the month, up 6.7% on May (Open Banking Limited).
Those volumes are sweeping payments. The commercial scheme is only a few months old, and Open Banking Limited doesn’t yet publish its volumes separately. The growth so far shows how quickly customers adopt recurring Pay by Bank once it’s available.
The commercial scheme: what launched in June
The UK Payments Initiative is an industry-led company backed by 31 banks and fintechs. It sets one shared rulebook and commercial model, so providers don’t negotiate terms with each bank separately. The FCA called the launch a major step forward for open banking.
In its first wave, the scheme covers payments to government, utilities, charities and financial services, according to UKPI’s launch announcement.
Key milestones
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| June 2026 | Open banking passes 1 billion payments since launch |
| 2 June 2026 | UK Payments Initiative’s commercial scheme goes live (Wave 1) |
| December 2025 | FCA announces the UK’s first commercial open banking scheme |
| October 2025 | Recurring payments reach 15.67% of open banking payments |
What does this mean for businesses that collect recurring payments?
For the first time, businesses in Wave 1 sectors can offer an open banking alternative to Direct Debit and card-on-file payments, with real-time confirmation and no card details to expire.
| Recurring Pay by Bank | Direct Debit | Card on file | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When you know it worked | Real time | Days later | Instantly |
| Settlement | Real time | Several working days | Typically days, via the card scheme |
| Risk of expired details | None | None | Cards expire or get replaced |
| Amount can vary | Yes, within customer-set limits | Yes, with advance notice | Yes |
| Customer control | Manage or cancel in their banking app | Via their bank or the merchant | Via the merchant or card issuer |
This matters most where payments repeat and failures are costly:
- Lending. Collect repayments in real time and know straight away if one fails.
- Insurance. Take premiums that change at renewal without a new mandate.
- Utilities. Collect bills that vary month to month within agreed limits.
- Debt collection. Offer flexible repayment plans that customers control from their banking app.
Subscriptions and wider e-commerce aren’t in Wave 1. They’re expected in a later phase, so businesses in those sectors can plan now.
What’s next for open banking in the UK?
The next 12 months are about scale: more sectors, more banks and a permanent rulebook.
- More use cases. Later phases of the commercial scheme are expected to extend recurring Pay by Bank into e-commerce and wider everyday spending.
- More competition. The FCA has said it wants competing commercial open banking schemes, and expects the UK Payments Initiative’s launch to act as a catalyst for others.
- A long-term framework. Subject to new legislation, the FCA plans to consult on a long-term regulatory framework for open banking by the end of 2026 (FCA).
- New oversight. Open Banking Limited is supporting the design of a future entity to lead the ecosystem’s next stage.
The challenge now is adoption at the checkout. The technology works and the rules are in place. Businesses that offer recurring Pay by Bank early will shape how customers choose to pay.
Open banking FAQs
What is open banking?
Open banking lets people and businesses securely share bank data, or pay straight from their bank account, through FCA-regulated providers and only with their consent. In the UK it launched in January 2018.
How many people use open banking in the UK?
Open Banking Limited reported 18.81 million user connections in June 2026. This counts links between people and banking brands, so it’s higher than the number of individual users.
How many open banking payments are made each month?
In June 2026, there were 40.16 million open banking payments. More than 1 billion have been made since launch.
What are variable recurring payments?
Variable recurring payments, or recurring Pay by Bank, let a customer approve a business once and then pay repeat amounts automatically within limits they set. They made up about 19% of open banking payments in June 2026.
When did commercial variable recurring payments launch?
The UK Payments Initiative launched the first commercial scheme on 2 June 2026. Its first wave covers payments to government, utilities, charities and financial services.
Is recurring Pay by Bank the same as Direct Debit?
No. Both take repeat payments from a bank account, but recurring Pay by Bank confirms each payment in real time, usually within seconds. Customers manage it from their banking app.
Is open banking safe?
Yes. Only FCA-authorised providers can use it. Customers approve every connection in their own banking app and never share their login details.
Ready for recurring Pay by Bank?
Open banking has the scale, the reliability and now a commercial scheme for recurring payments. The businesses that move first will set the standard their customers expect.
Acquired brings recurring Pay by Bank, one-off Pay by Bank, cards and Direct Debit together in one platform. Talk to our team about adding recurring Pay by Bank to your collections, or read our guide to what UKPI’s Wave 1 means for recurring payments.
Sources
- Open Banking Limited: Open Banking surpasses one billion payments and 100 billion API calls (30 July 2026)
- Open Banking Limited: API performance stats (August 2026)
- Open Banking Limited: An industry first, the UK’s new commercial open banking scheme (16 December 2025)
- FCA: Open banking takes next step forward with launch of UK Payments Initiative scheme (2 June 2026)
- UK Payments Initiative: UK banks and fintechs join forces to launch new payment scheme (2 June 2026)
- Open Banking Limited: JROC and the future entity