As part of its programme to create a new way to access the scheme, Faster Payments has announced that two fintech companies have gained accreditation to supply access to UK's Faster Payments through the New Access Model. FIS and PayPort, by VocaLink, have passed all the required technical tests covering the origination and receipt of payments and have been awarded the new certificate of technical accreditation.

FIS and PayPort will be joined by at least four other fintechs currently in the final stages of testing. The fintechs, as accredited “aggregator vendors” will be able to offer services to payment service providers (PSPs).

The accreditation process now takes just 15 minutes and is a Cloud-based service provided by Ascert.

Faster Payments chief executive Craig Tillotson said: “Our new technical accreditation service marks another big step forward in levelling the playing field for access to the world-leading Faster Payments service, by stimulating the market for fintechs offering services through our New Access Model.”

The aim of the new access model is to extend the reach of true real-time payments to millions more consumers and businesses.

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CTMfile Take: Good to see more progress in the UK payments market.