The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is further growing its Open Banking Dynamic Purchasing System with the addition of new suppliers, naming PayPoint as the latest firm on the framework.
Based in the Hertfordshire town of Welwyn Garden City, PayPoint has been accelerating its activity in Open Banking, launching its Confirmation of Payee (CoP), Payer Name Verification (PNV) and Account Information Services (AIS) solutions over recent years.
The company chiefly specialises in retail payments solutions and has been stepping up its Open Banking capabilities since a £3m investment in 2022 from OBCConnect, an Open Banking Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business.
“Today marks an important moment in the continued growth of our Open Banking offering,” said Jo Toolan, Managing Director of Client Services, PayPoint.
“PayPoint already works with a number of government departments, but being on the DPS framework gives us more visibility among potential buyers and will help us to showcase how transformative and bespoke our Open Banking partnerships really are.
“We see huge opportunity to expand our Open Banking business and make payments easier, faster and safer for people and businesses throughout the UK. We’re excited to build more relationships through the DPS framework that help to achieve that objective.”
Open Banking usage is accelerating in the UK and the government is looking to continue on this trajectory. Both the governing Conservative Party and opposition Labour Party see Open Banking as a key growth driver for the British economy.
The DPS was introduced by CCS back in January as a means for public sector organisations to access Open Banking services and account-to-account payments in one place, in pursuit of the government’s goal of accelerating the technology’s use.
The following months have seen several suppliers join the DPS, with NatWest becoming the first bank on the framework last month. However, Open Banking still requires more development in the UK, according to some key observers.
At the Pay360 conference last week, Joe Garner – author of the Future of Payments Review – and John Penrose MP outlined how they believe, respectively, the UK should ensure its leading standing in Open Banking is maintained.