Exchange-traded funds (ETF) investment platform, InvestEngine, and leading open banking payments network, TrueLayer, have today announced a new partnership to utilise variable recurring payments (VRPs) in ETF investing.

The move powers InvestEngine’s new Savings Plans feature for customers, allowing both new and experienced investors alike to easily and efficiently save for their future.

VRPs currently facilitate a process known as “sweeping”, the movement of funds between two accounts owned by the same person. Widely considered the next big innovation for payments in the UK, Open Banking Limited (OBL) says VRPs will “herald a new era in consumer and business banking” and offer “a more seamless and secure way to pay for goods and services”.

The UK’s nine largest banks have been mandated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to implement sweeping VRPs for their customers. Since this mandate began, TrueLayer has established itself as a market leader in VRPs. The first company in the UK to deliver open banking VRPs, it surpassed 1 million total VRP transactions in June.

By partnering with TrueLayer to implement VRPs on its platform, InvestEngine is enabling people to automatically top up weekly, fortnightly or monthly from a bank account of choice, without having to routinely renew the mandate. This provides a faster, smoother and more secure experience compared to direct debit and card transactions.

Once received, funds will be invested based on a client’s chosen investments through InvestEngine’s innovative AutoInvest feature. It ensures any uninvested cash is invested automatically each day, based on the investor’s chosen portfolio weights so that their money is always being put to work.

Combining this feature with Savings Plans and ETFs creates numerous benefits, including lower costs, greater diversification and easy access. It gives investors the best chance to grow their portfolio, while avoiding the risks and costs associated with stock-picking and expensive legacy platforms.

Andrey Dobrynin, Co-founder and Managing Director at InvestEngine, said: “ETF savings plans have grown significantly in popularity around the world as a simple, low-risk way for people to invest little and often.

“By partnering with TrueLayer on our new Savings Plans, we’re bringing the latest innovations in payments to the world of investing, overcoming the biggest pain points people experience, and making it easier for everyone to grow their wealth.”

Mariko Beising, VP Financial Services and Partnerships at TrueLayer, said: “VRPs are the next step in open banking innovations, giving consumers a faster, smoother and more secure way to make recurring payments.

“We’re pleased to be partnering with InvestEngine on its new Saving Plans feature, harnessing the benefits of VRPs to help more people invest regularly and with flexibility.”

ETF savings plans have become increasingly popular in other countries as a way for people to invest and save for their future. Germany, for example, has seen significant growth in ETF savings plans and is projected to hit 20 million plans by 2026 – equivalent to a quarter of the population. 

The launch of new Savings Plans by InvestEngine looks to replicate that success in the UK, giving investors significantly more flexibility in how they invest in ETFs