Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) are a new type of payment instruction that can be set up and used to make a series of future payments directly from your payment account to someone else. To set up a VRP, you will need to set up a VRP instruction/mandate with a payment initiation service provider (PISP). A PISP is a payment service provider that is authorised by the FCA that you can ask to initiate payments from your bank account. We (Mastercard OB Services UK Limited) are a PISP and you will be setting up your instructions with us. You will be presented with payment options on the checkout page of the biller / service provider website for a single payment transaction or if available, multiple payments using a ‘recurring use consent’ for multiple Payment Transactions to your Payee within rules (for example, limits, dates and frequencies) chosen by you as part of the consent process. We refer to this consent process where you confirm your instruction to us to and set these rules as being a “VRP Mandate”.
Once you have given your consent to the VRP instruction we can then initiate a series of payments on your behalf within the agreed parameters of the instruction. This means we will initiate these payments for the amounts and at the frequency requested by you and/or the biller / service provider, provided they are within the agreed parameters.
How are you protected
As with all types of payment, there may be situations where things go wrong. If you notice a payment has been made to a biller / service provider which you think is incorrect, perhaps because:
- you do not recognise the amount; or
- you do not think the payment should have been made,
You should contact the biller / service provider to try to resolve the issue. If they do not resolve the issue or you think a VRP payment has been taken from your bank account:
- fraudulently or the instruction to take the payment has been made fraudulently;
- without your permission;
- outside of the VRP instruction parameters you agreed to; or
- because of some other error, or mistake, or delay has occurred in processing the payment
then you can also contact your payment account provider. Your payment account provider will investigate the issue and decide whether to reimburse and whether to offer any other compensation.
Issues with goods/services, and other consumer disputes
When things go wrong with the actual purchases you make using a VRP payment, rather than an issue with the payment itself, then you should contact the service provider and ask them to resolve the issue directly with you.
We recommend accessing the service provider’s complaints policy. They will have a legal obligation to consider your complaint in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations that apply to them.
Time limits
Any complaint about the payments taken should be raised with your payment account provider within 13 months from the date of the transaction.
If your complaint relates to the goods / service you purchased, please refer to the service provider's complaint policy for details of when you should raise the complaint.
If your complaint relates to the payment initiation process or a Mastercard UK Open Finance service, please email us at openbankingUK_Complaints@mastercard.com or write to us at the address below:
Post to: Mastercard OB Services UK Limited, 1 Angel Lane, London, EC4R 3AB
For more information about how we will handle your complaint, please click on the following link. How to make a complaint - Mastercard OB Services UK
