The UK is overhauling its approach to retail payments infrastructure, with a greater role for the Bank of England and the creation of a new industry-led delivery company to work alongside Pay.UK.
In November 2024, the government published its National Payments Vision (NPV), vowing to cut through the "regulatory congestion" facing the sector to deliver a world-leading ecosystem based on next generation technology that delivers economic growth.
The UK is in the process of developing a New Payments Architecture programme, which will replace the current Faster Payments and Bacs retail interbank payment system, with clearing and settlement taking place over a single purpose-built central infrastructure.
The NPV says that upgrading the UK's retail payments infrastructure has been "slow and challenging".
To drive the new NPV, a Payments Vision Delivery Committee chaired by the treasury and containing the BofE, Financial Conduct Authority and Payments Systems Regulator was created.
The committee has now set out its plans for a model to deliver the next generation of UK retail payments infrastructure, supporting businesses and consumers and embedding public and private sector collaboration.
A Retail Payments Infrastructure Board will be chaired by the BofE, reflecting its role as operator of the Real-Time Gross Settlement service and experience of renewing infrastructure. Members will include ecosystem representatives, a rep from Pay.UK and a rep from the new Delivery Company.
This Delivery Company will then have responsibility for procuring and funding the new infrastructure, ensuring "the right expertise is driving activity at each stage of design and delivery, with clear mechanisms to ensure coordination, including with Pay.UK".
The central bank insists that Pay.UK - which currently operates the national retail payment systems including Faster Payments, Bacs and Direct Debit - "will retain its fundamental role as operator of existing interbank payment systems" and will collaborate closely with the Delivery Company.
The committee will publish its strategy in the autumn, with the Payments Forward Plan arriving by the end of the year, setting out a sequenced plan of initiatives across the ecosystem including initiatives in both retail and wholesale payments, and the role of digital assets.
A Mastercard spokesperson welcomed the plan: "These measures are designed to re-establish the UK’s position as a world leader in Account to Account payments. We support the introduction of the Industry Led Delivery Company which delivers on key findings of the Garner review, and the greater role for the Bank of England in overseeing the modernisation of UK A2A infrastructure."