On 21 May 2026, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published its proposed direction and guidelines: regulatory financial reporting in relation to the market review of card scheme and processing fees.
Background
In April 2025, the PSR published a remedies consultation (CP25/1), setting out four potential remedies to address its conclusions from its market review of card scheme and processing fees published in March 2025. In December 2025, the PSR issued a further consultation paper (CP25/3) setting out changes in relation to these proposed remedies intended to give businesses more information on the card payment (scheme and processing) fees they pay and give the PSR a better understanding of how the level of these fees is set, in particular in relation to the Regulatory Financial Reporting remedy (the RFR remedy). The PSR set out in this paper that, having considered the responses to the consultation and further stakeholder engagement, that it has decided to refine and implement the RFR remedy.
Summary
In particular, in light of the relevant feedback, the PSR make clear it no longer intends to require certain types of information where it considers that requiring such information annually is unnecessary to achieve the specific purpose of this remedy (for example, a balance sheet). That said, the PSR also highlight that, in future, newly available information (including that resulting from the RFR and Pricing Governance remedies) or new market developments might suggest that further intervention is appropriate to promote its statutory objectives and that, if so, it will consider what additional analysis it needs to decide on (and design) such potential interventions, for example where it may need additional financial information for specific interventions.
The PSR also emphasise that, while it is not contemplating further intervention in relation to scheme and processing fees at present, it will consider future intervention if necessary and appropriate, including both pricing and non-pricing options and, therefore, it will keep the scope and operation of the proposed RFR Direction under review.
Finally, the PSR also set out that alongside this document, it has published its proposed RFR Direction that will give effect to the RFR remedy, and which includes draft Regulatory Accounting Guidelines (the proposed Guidelines) and, further, that the proposed RFR Direction contains the core financial reporting requirements, while the proposed Guidelines give more detail and set out how the schemes must prepare their submissions.
Next steps
The PSR have asked for comments on its proposed RFR Direction and Guidelines published alongside this document by 3 July 2026.