The UK public’s appetite for intelligent, flexible payment solutions continues to grow, leaving significant opportunities for businesses to capitalise on modern banking technologies, according to new research from Moneyhub.

In a survey of over 2,000 UK consumers, the data and payments platform found that 45% now feel comfortable using open banking to pay for regular bills, while 39% said they would be happy to use it to make larger payments.

Additionally, 40% of consumers said they would like their banks to offer more Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) – which allow banking customers to connect payments providers to their accounts so they can make payments on customer’s behalf.

Last month, the FCA claimed that significant progress had been made in open banking over 2024 following voluntary funding into the platform from leading firms, leading the regulator to dub open banking a ‘UK success story’, being used by 11.7 million people making over 22 million payments every month.  

Likewise, HMRC now receives more open banking payments than any other UK organisation, and as of last year had reportedly taken over ten million payments worth over £33 billion through the system. 

According to Moneyhub, the fact that consumers are beginning to widely recognise the benefits of Open Banking payment is evidence that they are hungry for smarter financial tools that fit around their lifestyles.

That might be leaving the door open for flexible and cost-effective intelligent payment options, such as commercial VRPs, however, delays in bank adoption are preventing businesses from fully leveraging these innovations.

Moneyhub said that an absence of competitive and consistent frameworks is stalling growth, and hindering commercial models that align with consumer expectations, leaving UK firms at risk of falling further behind their European counterparts.

“Consumers are clearly ready for the next evolution in payments, and businesses are eager to meet this demand,” said Dan Scholey, CCO at Moneyhub.

“The increasing adoption of Open Banking demonstrates a real shift in how people want to manage their finances—seeking greater flexibility with intelligence, security, and control over their payments. 

“However, delays in establishing a robust commercial VRP framework are holding back innovation and economic growth.”

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For its part, the UK Government is keen to keep pushing open banking forward, in the hope of unlocking economic benefit. 

The National Payments Vision published late last year outlines government plans to support the development of open banking, describing it as having ‘significant untapped potential’ that could be helped along by the development regulatory framework, that lack of which the government claims is currently holding back progress.

“If we are to keep up with consumer expectations and global trends, financial institutions must work collaboratively with regulators to establish a competitive and consistent framework,” said Scholey.

“By doing so, we can create a payment ecosystem that not only benefits consumers and merchants but also fosters innovation and economic growth. Now is the time for banks and regulators to act to unlock the full potential of open banking.”