On Tuesday 14 July, 2026, it was reported that a significant portion of UK consumers are financially vulnerable, despite the fact that many loan repayments are still collected using outdated payment systems. In response to this issue, fintech company Hope Macy, under the regulation of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has announced an investment in the UK Payments Initiative (UKPI), a group dedicated to developing commercial Variable Recurring Payments (cVRP). This investment aims to support Hope Macy’s goal of providing more flexible and affordable repayment solutions for consumers.
Hope Macy’s new payment and collections service, Slick Pay, is at the core of their strategy. Designed for responsible lenders, Slick Pay utilizes Open Banking technology, affordability assessments, and artificial intelligence to optimize repayment collections and improve customer outcomes. By fully integrating with Hope Macy’s Slick Loan Management System, lenders are able to manage affordability assessments, customer communications, repayment plans, payment collections, and collections strategies through a single connected technology platform. Lenders can also switch to the cost-effective cVRP from traditional Direct Debits.
The traditional method of using Direct Debits for repayment collections has been effective, but it was never designed to understand a customer’s financial circumstances immediately before a payment is taken. As the expectations around affordability, vulnerability, and customer outcomes continue to evolve, Hope Macy believes that lenders need collections technology that can adapt to a customer’s changing financial circumstances in real time. This is where Slick Pay comes in.
Slick Pay combines Pay by Bank, Account Information Services, and future cVRP capabilities to give consumers greater control and visibility over their repayments. At the same time, the AI-powered affordability intelligence helps lenders make better-informed collection decisions based on a customer’s current financial situation. Using AI-driven decisioning, Slick Pay can analyze affordability data just before a repayment is due and recommend the most suitable collection strategy. Instead of relying on fixed collection amounts, lenders can optimize repayments based on a customer’s current financial circumstances, leading to improved collection performance and supporting better outcomes for both the lender and the customer. For example, if a lender is due to collect a £100 repayment, Hope Macy’s banking technology can perform an automated affordability assessment just before collection. If the assessment shows that collecting the full amount could put the customer under financial pressure or the Direct Debit will fail, Hope Macy’s AI can suggest alternative collection strategies, such as adjusting the amount requested or delaying collection. The objective is to optimize repayment outcomes while reducing the risk of avoidable financial hardship.
Hope Macy has long been committed to supporting lenders in identifying and assisting vulnerable customers through technology-led affordability assessments, intelligent collections strategies, and enhanced customer insight. Their approach is based on the principle that collections should prioritize sustainable repayment rather than simply recovering funds at any cost. By helping lenders align repayments with a customer’s expected income and expenditure, Hope Macy’s technology promotes affordability, reduces avoidable financial distress, and encourages consumers to remain engaged with their repayment plans.
The launch of Slick Pay comes at a time when financial vulnerability remains a significant challenge across the UK. According to the FCA’s Financial Lives 2024 Survey, nearly half of UK adults, equivalent to 25.8 million people, display one or more characteristics of vulnerability. This highlights the need for more flexible repayment solutions that can adapt to consumers’ changing financial circumstances and support better outcomes throughout the collections journey.
Hope Macy’s investment in UKPI reflects their belief that commercial Variable Recurring Payments will play a crucial role in the future of collections. By enabling more flexible, data-driven repayment experiences, cVRP has the potential to provide lenders with a compelling alternative to traditional Direct Debit collections while delivering greater transparency and control for consumers. The combination of Open Banking, artificial intelligence, and commercial Variable Recurring Payments is set to transform how repayments are collected, allowing lenders to collect the right amount, at the right time, based on what customers can genuinely afford.
As Open Banking adoption continues to grow across the UK, Hope Macy believes that affordability-led payment solutions will become an increasingly important tool for lenders seeking to improve customer outcomes, reduce collection costs, and meet evolving regulatory expectations.
Sam Manning, Chief Executive Officer of Hope Macy, stated, “The payments industry is relying on collection methods designed decades ago. They were never built to understand a customer’s circumstances in real time. Direct Debits have served the industry well, but they weren’t designed for real-time affordability assessments, artificial intelligence, or dynamic repayment management. For too long, collections have focused on whether a payment can be taken rather than whether it should be taken. We believe AI and Open Banking can help lenders optimize repayments based on a customer’s actual financial circumstances. The right outcome isn’t always collecting the maximum amount possible—it’s collecting the right amount, at the right time, in a way that supports long-term repayment success.”
Richard Koch, Managing Director of UK Payments Initiative, welcomed Hope Macy to
