The UK’s Open banking sector saw rapid growth in 2025, with more than 16 million users and a 53% rise in payments
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has highlighted figures showing strong growth in open banking throughout 2025, ahead of the first commercial rollout of variable recurring payments (VRPs).
Figures published by Open Banking Limited (OBL) show more than 16 million users are now engaging with open banking services, while the total number of payments made via the system grew 53% year on year.
The FCA attributes this rapid expansion to a growing focus on account-to-account payments, which are increasingly being adopted by both consumers and businesses.
Technical performance has also been strong, with average unweighted API availability reaching 99.22% in October 2025, with a weighted average of 99.80% and the average response time for API calls stood at 331 milliseconds.
Brand-level figures for October 2025 show AIB Group UK leading with the fastest average response time at just 100 milliseconds, followed by Mettle and Barclays, while Coutts recorded the slowest at over 700 milliseconds.
Third-party providers successfully completed over 2.08 billion API calls in October, with a success rate of 99.39% and only 0.61% failing. Lloyds led in volume with over 300 million successful API calls, followed by Barclays and NWB.
OBL’s data also shows steady month-on-month growth in total and new users, with more people and businesses now accessing account information services (AIS) and payment initiation services (PIS) through multiple account providers
UK prepares for commercial VRPs
In 2025, the FCA said it made seamless account-to-account payments a central priority, working closely with industry leaders to drive innovation and improve reliability. The regulator highlighted significant progress across the market, with providers and developers actively testing VRP schemes and building the systems needed for wider rollout.
A key development in this effort is the creation of the UK Payments Initiative (UKPI), which brings together 31 firms to operate a commercial VRP scheme.
The initiative will allow consumers to make recurring payments to businesses, including utility providers, while aiming to provide firms with a more predictable payment flow. Early trials indicate VRPs could be particularly useful for customers with irregular incomes, helping them manage payment schedules more effectively.
The first live payments under the UKPI scheme are expected in the first quarter of 2026, which will be a huge step in the commercialisation of open banking in the UK.
Another milestone approaching centres around regulatory clarity as the UK Treasury is expected to introduce legislation in 2026 which will give the FCA powers to set open banking rules. According to the regulator, it plans to consult on a long-term framework before the end of the year.
“Today’s announcement by the FCA of the UK’s first commercial open banking scheme is a significant moment for the industry,” said OBL CEO Henk Van Hulle.
“I sincerely thank every organisation across banking, fintech and payments that worked together to bring this vision to life. It is testament to the collaborative nature of our ecosystem that this progress has been industry‑led.”
