Faster Payments` New Access Model to yield business opportunities worth GBP 200 mln

In addition, Faster Payments transactions are predicted to, at least, double over the same period, from 1 billion transactions processed in 2014, as consumer and business demand for real-time payments continues to grow, according to The Economics of the New Access Model report issued by the management consulting company Accenture and commissioned by Faster Payments.

The New Access Model, first published in December 2014, sets out proposals to enable technology vendors to offer technical access to Payment Service Providers (PSPs) by adding to their existing accounting platform technology, or providing a managed solution to either a single or multiple PSPs. Faster Payments currently has 11 participants who connect directly to the service, while a further 400 PSPs access the service indirectly through sponsor banks.

Tthe New Access Model should result in lower costs by 2020 than sponsored access or direct membership for PSPs processing (or forecast to process) between 1.4 million and 20 million Faster Payments per year. To coincide with the publication of the report, six FinTech providers - ACI Worldwide, Bottomline Technologies, FIS, Fiserv, Fundtech – now part of D+H, and VocaLink – have signed Letters of Commitment to develop aggregation services through the New Access Model.

Faster Payments is proceeding with a programme to encourage more FinTech vendors to become accredited to connect to the FPS Central Infrastructure and provide aggregation services. A PSP participation programme is running in parallel, to enable and support interested parties through the prerequisite accreditation, certification and assurance processes needed for live access to the FPS Central Infrastructure. The access programme is on track to meet its targets of having at least three accredited vendors in place by the end of 2015, with a dozen new PSPs active by the end of 2016.