Plend selects GoCardless for Variable Recurring Payments 

By Gloria Methri

Ethical lender Plend has selected GoCardless to provide Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) through the latter’s Instant Bank Pay feature. Plend will use VRPs, alongside GoCardless Direct Debit to offer more payment options to customers.

The flexible nature of VRPs allows users to easily change their payment schedule to suit their financial situation. Because VRPs offer instant payment confirmation and move money more quickly than Direct Debit, they will also give customers an up-to-the-minute view of their finances and lower the incidence of late payments.

On the back end, VRPs will reduce the number of manual tasks for the operations team as more routine work becomes automated. This also allows Plend’s customers to make instant changes to their payments, by tapping into features like payment holidays and interest rate freezes.

Jamie Pursaill, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Plend, said, “We are excited to adopt VRPs to make loan repayments tailored to each customer, especially as the cost-of-living crisis continues. In addition to making the process smoother, our team can use VRPs to be more responsive to customers who are missing payments or in financial difficulty, reaching them faster and hopefully coming to a resolution even sooner. Plus, we can pass on the savings from our efficiency gains to our customers in the form of lower APRs.”

Pat Phelan, UK MD, and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless, added, “We are proud to support Plend as they broaden financial inclusion through smarter credit decisioning. The use of cutting-edge technology to personalise their offering is at the heart of their business model, so it is no surprise they plan to introduce VRPs to offer greater flexibility for their customers.”

VRPs are a new form of payment powered by open banking. Like Direct Debit payments, they allow an organisation to collect payments from a customer on a recurring basis, without seeking permission each time.