Starling Bank has signed a major deal with VocaLink , enabling access to Faster Payments for its customers, other financial institutions and payment service providers (PSPs) using the VocaLink PayPort gateway.

The new partnership will help to open up access to the UK’s payment services to challenger banks, established institutions, PSPs and corporates with customer propositions requiring access to real-time payments.

The Faster Payments network has been notoriously difficult to gain access to in the past, with barriers to entry including: cost of the technology, and a lack of access to sponsor services, preventing many businesses from accessing Faster Payments directly.

Through this collaboration with Starling, PayPort’s 24/7 managed service will enable access to FPS in more efficient way by removing costs otherwise associated with running and maintaining in-house systems. Starling hopes that this will result in higher levels of innovation, increased competition in the payments market and more choice for consumers.

As a sponsor bank, Starling will authorise and settle transactions for organisations who want to connect quickly to FPS as a Direct Agency. This partnership also extends Starling’s existing relationship with VocaLink, as the first mobile-only challenger bank to partner with Vocalink’s Pay by Bank app in May 2017.

Paul Stoddart, CEO at VocaLink, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Starling Bank to offer financial services providers – and their customers – simple and secure access to the UK payments infrastructure through our PayPort product.”

Julian Sawyer, COO at Starling Bank, added: “Starling Payment Services has been created to provide Sponsor services to Faster Payments. Increasing competition in the market is a key driver and we are delighted to be working with VocaLink and PayPort customers to open up access to the wider banking community. The combination of expertise and enhanced technology will offer clients real-time access to Faster Payments, increasing their competitiveness and value within the market.”

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