Ordo accepted onto UK’s Open Banking public procurement system

Open Banking provider Ordo, which is the trading name of The Smart Request Company, has been accepted onto Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS’s) new Open Banking Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).

Ordo’s turnkey solutions, including variable recurring payments, are now immediately available to all government departments and public sector bodies in the UK.

Earlier this month, Moneyhub announced it had been accepted onto the DPS as a supplier, while Ecospend became the first Open Banking provider to join the system in January.

In the fiscal year 2021-22, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits worth £2.8 billion.

Craig Tillotson, chief executive officer of Ordo said: “We are delighted to be recognised by CCS as a trusted provider of Open Banking solutions for the public sector.

“Given our leading position in the development of Open Banking-powered variable recurring payment (VRP) services, and UK regulators’ drive to open up these consumer-friendly and cost-effective services to government bodies this year, the timing couldn’t be better for everyone.”

He added: “We are excited to be collaborating with public sector bodies to help them unlock the full potential of the very latest Open Banking services to meet the needs of citizens as consumers, as well as taxpayers.”

Ordo also provided an update on its partnership with Custom Credit, a UK-based lender, following news of the Open Banking payments partnership in June 2023.

Custom Credit offers loans to individuals who typically find it difficult to access credit and then tailors the ongoing payment schedule.

Since launching with Ordo’s VRP solution, Custom Credit has disbursed several hundred thousand pounds via Ordo, and has around 20% of its current portfolio using VRP each month.

Damien Burke, chief executive officer of Custom Credit said: “Ordo has been a very supportive partner in our mission to be the most customer-centric fintech in the UK.

“Their VRP solution reflects this as we are able to adapt to customers’ specific needs and adapt the timing and the amount of repayment to suit their individual needs much more quickly, efficiently and cheaply than with direct debit.”

Tillotson said: “As regulators open up Ordo’s VRP service to the broader finance industry later this year, it will be great to see how other firms follow Custom Credit’s lead and take advantage of the superior consumer control, real-time delivery and reduced costs of our VRP service to deliver their Consumer Duty obligations.”