GoCardless announces its first VRP customer

The deal sees the up-and-coming personal finance app, which helps people reach life’s milestones, starting with buying a home, use the GoCardless network to move money from a saver’s bank account into their Nude Lifetime ISA.

Thanks to GoCardless’ suite of direct bank payment options, Nude will gain access to both Direct Debit and instant, Open Banking payments through a single integration. In addition to using GoCardless’ Instant Bank Pay for one-off payments, Nude will be among the first businesses in the UK to use the feature for Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) as the CMA’s deadline for ‘sweeping’ comes into effect.

Nude’s officials stated that the Instant Bank Pay feature has been popular with their users, who see their deposit grow with every transfer. When Variable Recurring Payments come in, they can instantly and automatically move their money from any account to their ‘first home fund’ on a regular basis. This will give them more control.

Although the CMA’s sweeping deadline is July 2022, there are varying levels of bank readiness across the industry. This was another factor which contributed to Nude’s decision to select GoCardless as a payment provider.

GoCardless has been active in the VRP space since 2019, when it took the first live transaction through a sandbox developed by the OBIE. Earlier in May 2022, NatWest Group announced it has signed an agreement with GoCardless to provide VRPs as a new payment option for businesses and consumers, making it the first UK bank to go beyond the requirement for banks to provide VRP in support of ‘sweeping’.