OBE to host Nov 17 virtual open banking campfire

UK-based Open Banking Excellence will host The Future of Payments: VRB and Beyond on Nov. 17, 2022. The virtual campfire, co-hosted by Helen Child, OBE founder and Huw Davies, OBE co-founder and chief commercial officer, will be live-streamed at 10 a.m. EST and 4 p.m. BST, event organizers noted.

Panelists will include Helene Oger-Zaher, manager at Payments Policy; Siamac Rezaiezadeh, senior director, product management at GoCardless; Charles Damen, chief product officer at Token; and Raffaele Brusco, senior API growth manager leading VRP commercialization at NatWest Group.

OBE representatives pointed out the United Kingdom created the original blueprint for open banking and open finance. The OBE website states, “Industry leaders around the world look to the UK for lessons learned, expertise and practical advice,” while predicting that open banking and finance trends will continue to generate numerous opportunities for embedded payments and innovative ESG solutions designed to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.

Democratized access

OBE, established in 2018, is a trusted community of open banking and open finance pioneers committed to advancing best practices across the global commerce value chain. Members include fintechs, banks, regulators, big tech firms and financial services institutions.

“Our mission is to be the authentic voice representing a global movement of like-minded experts who through collaboration provide technical, regulatory and legal insight into Open Banking and its wider implications for a dynamic and innovative financial sector,” OBE representatives stated. “Together we're creating a community to share, learn and collaborate. We're an established and trusted community of people looking to raise awareness about how making bank data accessible for third parties would benefit customers.”

OBE representatives noted that open banking, by nature, has removed barriers to access, allowing small and midsize players to participate in a global market formerly dominated by a few large players. Advanced technologies and secure APIs enable customers to pay directly from one bank account to another, facilitating direct and cost-effective payment methods, they added.

Variable recurring payments

Helen Child, founder of Open Banking Excellence, stated that Great Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority ordered banks to implement variable recurring payments (VRPs) — recurring payment structures that support varying amounts over time. This mandate will be the focus of the upcoming virtual panel, she noted.

“Three short months after the CMA deadline, the most forward-looking industry leaders have already moved beyond the mandate for sweeping and are rolling out exciting payments use cases that will offer customers greater convenience, certainty and control as they seek to combat the cost of living crisis,” she said. “Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear about the latest developments directly from those at the vanguard of change.”

Child went on to say that fintechs and financial institutions are already harnessing the power of VRP. GoCardless, for example, rolled out VRP capabilities, such as Instant Bank Pay, to help financial providers support one-off and recurring transactions through open banking. In addition, NatWest teamed up with open banking provider Token to offer VRP as a new payment option.

To register for the free OBE virtual campfire, visit openbankingexcellence.org/campfire/the-future-of-payments-vrp-beyond/

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