The term DiPPA, or Digital Parallel Payment Account, has popped up recently in construction finance circles. It's described as a modern way to manage payments on building projects - quick to set up, fully digital, and offering visibility to everyone involved.
Features typically include same-day account setup, ID checks for everyone on the project, clear records of who’s been paid, and a shared space for uploading documents like payment notices and certificates. The idea is to keep money safe and flowing fairly to contractors and subcontractors, but in a modern, transparent and digitally-enabled way.
The short answer? It doesn’t really - not in any way that matters. Modern-day project bank account providers do all of the same things, ensuring that the supply chain is protected from start to finish through safeguarded, ring-fenced accounts.
Indeed, a DiPPA works just like a well-run Project Bank Account (PBA), but with a digital interface - it's the FinTech 'challenger' to the established project bank account. Both are designed to protect funds for a specific job, ensure that payments go out on time to all parties, and offer transparency across the supply chain. Both involve holding money in trust, and using digital tools to track transactions and share documents.
DiPPAs are marketed as a new solution, but what they really offer is a digital interface on top of what PBAs have been doing for years. Like all FinTech challengers, however, there are differing grades of experience, sophistication and regulatory compliance underpinning the service - there's no doubting the success of the likes of Monzo, Revolut et al., but not everyone would choose to use them for their multi-million pound construction projects.
At dospay, our Project Bank Accounts are already set up to do everything a DiPPA promises - and more:
We’ve been offering regulated payment services since 2019, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). That means peace of mind for clients and the supply chain - no surprises, no sales fluff, just proper construction finance infrastructure. We're solvent, profitable, established and have all of the appropriate financial and legal safeguards in place to ensure that we can support the smallest and largest construction projects in the UK. In 2025, we launched the UK Retention Deposit Scheme, protecting retentions for every size of project.
At its core, a DiPPA is a simply a Project Bank Account with a digital interface. They don't differ technically in structure or legal innovation - this is just a different name for a trusted approach that already exists.
It should be noted that we absolutely don't think this is a bad thing - far from it! We think that more people offering services and products and innovations to help drive more transparency and security in construction is great. In our view, however, the focus should absolutely be on what’s under the bonnet - these serious projects are important for all their stakeholders. We encourage participants to satisfy themselves as to the regulatory status, solvency of the provider and safeguarding arrangements on offer - the last thing any construction project needs is to become embroiled in an insolvency process that delays payment to the supply chain.
Find our more about how our Project Bank Accounts work in practice.
dospay is a trading name of DOS & Co. Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with company number 08294966.
DOS & Co. Ltd. is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (FRN: 833374) for the provision of payment services.
All of our GBP escrow and third-party managed accounts are segregated and safeguarded at the Bank of England.
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