On 8 May 2025, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published a specific direction revoking Specific Directions 3 and 3a on the competitive procurement of central infrastructure.
Specific Direction 3, which was issued in June 2017, imposed requirements on the operator of the Faster Payments Scheme (FPS), in particular that contracts
On 6 May 2025, the Bank of England (BoE) published a speech by its deputy governor for financial stability, Sarah Breeden, entitled ‘International payment rails: the value of a harmonised gauge’. The speech explains why the digitalisation of money and assets is important to the BoE, why interoperability is important, and
On 1 May 2025, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published its Annual Plan and Budget for 2025-26, setting out an overview of its commitments and priorities over the next financial year as it moves towards consolidation with the Financial Conduct Authority.
The PSR flags that the Government has confirmed that the PSR
On 2 April 2025, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published a consultation paper, CP25/1, on proposed remedies to the issues that it found in the final report of its market review into scheme and processing fees.
Background
Following increases in card scheme and processing fees paid by UK businesses, the PSR has
On 2 April 2025, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fair Banking published a report on authorised push payment (APP) fraud. The report investigates the scale and impact of APP fraud and considers the efficacy of regulation to address it.
The report
Key recommendations set out in the report include:
On 27 March 2025, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) announced the establishment of the Forum on Cross-border Payments Data.
The Forum will be a platform for dialogue, information exchange, and research, helping to identify and address inconsistencies in global data frameworks. An advisory body comprised of private sector representatives will also be created
On 27 March 2025, the National Audit Office (NAO) published a webpage outlining its study of the Bank of England’s (BoE) Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) renewal program, scheduled for winter 2025/26.
The webpage notes that the RTGS is part of the critical national infrastructure underpinning payment services and transactions
On 11 March 2025, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published a policy statement, PS25/3, on the publication of 2024 authorised push payment (APP) scams data.
Background
The PSR began collecting and publishing data on APP scams in March 2023, as part of its broader efforts to tackle fraud. It published