On 29 March 2022, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published its annual plan for 2022/23.

Key projects for the PSR in 2022/23 include:

• Account-to-account retail payments and card fees – the PSR will be working to make account-to-account payments become a realistic alternative to credit and debit cards.
• Authorised push payment (APP) scams – the PSR has consulted on further measures to help fight APP scams and protect victims, and will take the responses into account as it decides on the next steps.
• Confirmation of Payee (CoP) – the PSR has already directed the UK’s six largest banking groups to implement CoP, and other payment service providers have now also implemented it. This year, the PSR will examine if it needs to take further action to make CoP more widely available.
• The future of cash – the PSR will be considering its long term approach to the elements within its remit as the government develops the regulatory framework for cash.
• The New Payments Architecture – the PSR will continue to engage with Pay.UK and potential infrastructure providers to understand how they intend to comply with the regulatory framework.
• Card-acquiring market review – following the PSR’s review of this market it is developing a set of measures to improve merchants’ ability to compare and switch between card-acquirers.
• Cryptoassets, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies – the PSR will be working with other regulators on the upcoming legislative framework to help protect consumers using them for payments.