OBL launches public consultation on the MLA for cVRPs

The paper is published alongside the draft documents that make up the MLA for cVRPs, with the aim to ensure the MLA documents meet the requirements of the cVRP product.

cVRPs’ features and use casesc

VRPs are a type of payment instruction that helps customers safely connect authorised payment providers to their payment account to make transactions on their behalf in line with an agreement.

This follows an already existing Open Banking product called sweeping VRP that enables easier sweeping of funds from customers’ accounts. A growing number of sweeping VRPs are made monthly in the UK, comprising around 10% of all Open Banking payments.

VRPs are payments initiated by a PISP using an on-going consent provided by the customer where the amount and timing of the payment need not be fixed. cVRPs are the same, except they are used outside of the CME order. PISPs can work with merchants, billers, and other beneficiaries that will generate requests for payments. PISPs will initiate the payment on behalf of the customer, if permitted by their agreement.

Compared to traditional automated payments through products such as direct debits, cVRPs offer user the ability to set the conditions under which payments are made, such as the maximum value per payment, and value cap for a particular beneficiary.

OBL implements cVSPs

OBL and Pay.UK worked with different industry participants to define the policies that determine how cVRPs will operate. The MLA is made up of a Participation Agreement, a Rulebook, and Schedules to those rules. After these have been agreed upon, the company anticipates a series of operational guides to be produced to aid industry participants.

The premise of cVRPs is that there is a commercial model underpinning the set-up of cVRPs on customer accounts and any payments initiated under those cVRPs. This means PISPs pay ASPSPs for access to those APIs. The commercial model remains in development and is not included in the MLA currently. It is projected that it will be added to the MLA after the consultation concluded.