A Variable Recurring Payment (VRP) is an open banking payment instruction where the customer authorises a third-party provider to initiate multiple future payments from their bank account, with amounts and timing that can vary within agreed limits. The customer consents once (setting parameters such as maximum per-payment amount, maximum cumulative amount, and frequency), and subsequent payments execute automatically without requiring re-authentication each time.

VRPs are often described as the open-banking successor to direct debits: they offer real-time settlement, granular customer control, and lower fees. The UK was first to mandate VRP for sweeping use cases (moving money between a customer's own accounts), and commercial VRP for paying third parties (e.g. subscriptions, utility bills) is being rolled out. The EU is exploring similar functionality under PSD3/PSR.

The Open Banking Tracker covers VRP-capable aggregators and payment initiation providers. See the Payment Initiation Services page and glossary for more on VRP, sweeping, and non-sweeping use cases.