What is Sweeping & VRP (variable recurring payment)?
Sweeping payments allow you to send funds between two bank accounts in your name (which are held at one of the main nine FCA-regulated banks within the U.K., also known as the CMA9).
- As a customer, you can only sweep funds to another bank account you hold in the same name. In other words, both bank accounts must have exactly the same account holder name.
- You can only set up a sweeping payment via a Third Party Provider (TPP). TPPs use Open Banking APIs to allow customers to make payments and provide consent through these APIs.
- Sweeping allows you to provide consent to a TPP to sweep funds from your account when it reaches an agreed balance under specific rules known as parameters. For example: “Sweep funds in excess of £100 when my balance reaches this threshold.” Therefore, if your balance reaches £120, the Third Party will sweep the excess—£20 in this case—to the other account in your name.
VRP (Variable Recurring Payments) is a new payment method that allows you to pay for recurring bills (e.g., utilities, subscriptions, loan repayments). VRP will be available at the merchant checkout page, offered as an additional payment option above and beyond the traditional ones (e.g., direct debits, debit card payments, credit card payments).
The key advantages of setting up a VRP payment are:
- More control over your outgoings by receiving live notifications on processed payments and viewing all existing mandates in one place.
- Self-service convenience: You can set up or cancel a mandate in just a few taps, without spending hours on the phone with a merchant’s customer service center.
