TrueLayer today announced the launch of Bank on File with Trading 212, IG Group, InvestEngine and East Lothian Housing Association, marking one of the first large-scale commercial deployments of recurring Pay by Bank payments in the UK.

Bank on File is a new payment method designed to replace legacy card-on-file and direct debit billing, allowing businesses to securely collect recurring payments directly from bank accounts with instant settlement, lower costs, greater security and improved user control.

Today, most recurring payments in the UK — from rent to subscriptions to investment contributions — run on cards stored with businesses or on direct debits. But when cards expire, get lost, or are subject to fraud, direct debits can offer limited flexibility and control.

According to the FCA, 7.4 million UK consumers feel burdened by their bills and credit commitments, and 5.5m have missed a payment in the last six months. For merchants, card payment failure rates on subscription billing run at 5-10% and failed payments cost subscription businesses an estimated 9% of annual revenue. Bank on File removes the underlying cause of these issues - no card to expire, no number to be stolen, no fraud to absorb.

Until now, Pay by Bank has largely been limited to one-off transactions. Bank on File removes that limitation, enabling consumers to authorise recurring payments directly from their bank account for bills, subscriptions, recurring purchases and one-click checkout experiences.

Francesco Simoneschi, CEO and Co-founder of TrueLayer, said: "For decades, digital commerce has relied on card-on-file payments. Pay by Bank proved there was a better way to pay, but until now it was limited to one-off transactions. Bank on File changes that. Consumers can now securely authorise recurring payments directly from their bank account, with full visibility, control, and the ability to cancel at any time. Launching with Trading 212, IG Group, InvestEngine and ELHA shows that Bank on File is now ready to compete with card-on-file for modern commerce."

Instead of entering card or payee details, setting up Bank on File is as easy as selecting your bank from a list, and using secure biometric authentication, like face ID or fingerprint scan to authorise consent. Customers agree to clear exactly how much can be taken and when and can easily cancel the recurring payment at any time.

The launch is made possible by UKPI, a new payment scheme launched today through a collaboration between the FCA and over 30 UK banks and fintechs to deliver Pay by Bank capabilities beyond those required by existing regulation.

At launch:

• Trading 212 will use Bank on File to enable customers to fund their accounts and set up recurring investments directly from their bank

• IG Group will use Bank on File to enable seamless recurring deposits for investment customers

• InvestEngine will use Bank on File to simplify recurring account funding and investing journeys

• East Lothian Housing Association will use Bank on File to support regular rent payments

Bank on File has been built, integrated and tested, with live transactions already completed, and is now being rolled out to UK customers from today, in phases throughout June.

The deployments demonstrate how Bank on File can support a broad range of recurring payment use cases across financial services, housing, utilities and beyond.

Marc Najjar, Head of Strategic Operations, Trading 212, said:"At Trading 212, our mission is to help people build wealth every day — and that means removing friction at every step. Bank on File does exactly that. Our customers can now automate their investments directly from their bank account — whether that’s into a diversified portfolio or a single stock. We’re proud to be one of the first platforms to bring this to market.”

Steve Burke, Payments SME at IG Group, said: "Investing works best when it becomes a habit. That's why making it simple for customers to fund their accounts and automate contributions is so important. Bank on File enables customers to securely connect their bank account and set up recurring investments in just a few clicks, creating a faster and more seamless investing experience. We're excited to be among the first firms helping bring this new payment capability to market."

Ben Jenkins, CPO at InvestEngine, said: "Regular investing is one of the most powerful ways to build wealth over time. The easier it is for customers to fund their accounts and automate contributions, the more likely they are to stay invested for the long term. Bank on File removes friction from that process, creating a simple, secure way for customers to invest directly from their bank account."

Martin Pollhammer, CE at ELHA, said: “We’ve partnered with True Layer right from the earliest days of Open Banking and we’re delighted that real time, fully automated, Pay by Bank payments are now a reality, making rent payment quicker, simpler, and handing control over payments to our tenants. Tailoring individual payments to each tenant’s personal circumstances creates a unique user experience, whilst the instant settlement means tenants can see their rent is paid straight away, no more waiting for payments to process or worrying that a payment has been missed."

From recurring payments to one-click checkout

Today's launch marks the first phase of Bank on File adoption. Future phases will expand Bank on File into broader ecommerce use cases including subscriptions, memberships and one-click checkout experiences, transforming Pay by Bank into a complete payment network for modern commerce.