UK sees record month for open banking payments

Year-to-date data for 2023 against 2022 shows that total payments have doubled. In July, the number of active payment users surged to 4.2 million, a 10.5% rise from June and up 68.2% on July 2022.

Among the key drivers of growth are single domestic payments, which recorded 10.5 million transactions in July, an eight per cent increase from June.

This was propelled by government payments solutions and the onboarding of several financial institutions and investment platforms. These institutions have introduced ‘pay by bank’ options, allowing users to fund a variety of savings and investment products.

The top three use cases for open banking transactions, ranked in order of volumes, are:

• Account top-ups
• Credit card bill payments
• E-commerce

Variable recurring payments also saw substantial growth, with 872,000 transactions in July, a 28.7% increase on the previous month.

Marion King, chair and trustee, Open Banking Limited, says: “The strong and sustained growth in open banking payments underscores the rapid pace at which open banking is reshaping the financial and payments landscape.

It reinforces the pivotal role open banking plays in driving financial inclusion, innovation, and consumer empowerment.”