UK to host world’s first VRP hackathon

Ozone API, Open Future World and UK Finance are to host the world’s first Open Banking VRP Hackathon, providing an opportunity to test and demonstrate variable recurring payments (VRPs) when it starts in September.

The Hackathon, which runs from 13 September to 11 October, will be powered by Ozone’s fully transactional sandbox, which has been updated to incorporate VRP.

Teams of both large and small PISPs, developers, banks and technology platforms are being invited to register to take part.

It comes after the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) announced in July that the Competition and Markets Authority had written to it, mandating sweeping through VRPs.

Jana Mackintosh, managing director, payments and innovation at UK Finance, said: “UK Finance has always been a strong supporter of Open Banking, which is already benefiting millions of UK consumers and businesses.

“Expanding into variable recurring payments provides a great opportunity for the industry to collaborate and for firms to demonstrate what Open Banking can deliver next.

“We are excited to see what new ideas and initiatives come out of this hackathon and are proud to be involved in it.”

Categories in the hackathon include B2B payments, retail, subscriptions, sweeping and peer-to-peer, with the winner in each category set to receive a “bespoke” 12-month publicity plan and support from Open Future World, worth more than £10,000.

Among the judges are Nick Cabrera, co-founder of Open Future World, UK Finance’s Mackintosh, Volt chief technology officer Steffen Vollert and Mastercard senior vice president, open banking, Jim Wadsworth.

Chris Michael, CEO of Ozone and part of the judging panel, said: “VRPs have real potential to transform payments – improving customer experience and security for banks, merchants and end customers, as well as reducing settlement times, complexity and costs.

“We are delighted to be providing the enabling technology for this hackathon, as a catalyst to help firms develop and showcase their propositions in advance of the UK banks having their APIs live next year.”

The Hackathon is being sponsored by Accenture, Mastercard, Volt and Worldpay.