The UK payments industry is facing further upheaval as the Competition and Markets Authority approves consolidation of the operators of Bacs, the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company and Faster Payments Scheme into a New Payments Systems Operator.
The Payments Strategy Forum set up by the UK's Payment Systems Regulator initially proposed the idea as a means to inject more competition into the UK's moribund payments market.
Hannah Nixon, PSR managing director welcomed the watchdog's approval: "The consolidation should support one of the PSR’s key requirements to support increased choice of access and to develop common participation models and rules. This should make it easier for banks, fintechs, and other payment service providers to enter the market and compete effectively."
The PSR and the Bank of England have already agreed a delivery plan, with the merger of the three independent schemes set to be substantially completed by the end of 201.
The unified entity will then become responsible for the next stage of the development of the New Payments Architecture (NPA), an industry-led initiative that aims to increase competition and resilience as well as enhance innovation across the payments and banking industry.