Regulators at the Heart of the National Payments Vision
•February 2, 2026
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Why It Matters
A robust, multi‑option payments infrastructure is critical for economic stability and consumer confidence, especially as digital transactions surge. Understanding the regulator’s role and upcoming reforms helps industry players anticipate changes, stay competitive, and protect against fraud in a rapidly evolving market.
Regulators at the Heart of the National Payments Vision
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The role of the FCA and the PSR in delivering the National Payments Vision.
This morning (2 February 2026) David Geale (the Payment System Regulator’s MD) spoke at the Payments Regulation and Innovation Summit - David’s keynote address covered the role of the FCA and the PSR in delivering the National Payments Vision.
You’ll find the speech on the FCA’s website at: The role of the FCA and PSR in delivering the National Payments Vision.
Here’s four key points that David made in his speech:
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“Our job as regulators isn’t to pick winners. It’s to make sure the system as a whole is trusted, coherent and future-proof, whatever form a payment takes.”
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“Resilience doesn’t just come from a single system having strong controls, as important as that is. It comes from choice - a range of payment options operating alongside one another. It comes from choice - a range of payment options operating alongside one another.”
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The much anticipated Payments Forward Plan - setting out the sequence of initiatives in both retail and wholesale payments and milestones in relation to modernising payments regulations will be published “in the next couple of months.”
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With progress being made in Australia with the New Payments Platform, in Singapre with PayNow and India with UPI “progress on infrastructure has been more modest in recent years, while others have pushed on - we cannot afford to stand still.“
You’ll find the speech on the FCA’s website at: The role of the FCA and PSR in delivering the National Payments Vision.
David also offered four great payment facts:
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An estimated 1,500 payments were made per second in the UK last year.
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UK payments systems moved £107 trillion in 2023 – that’s equivalent to 44 times GDP.
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In the year since the APP Fraud Reimbursement Scheme came into effect, 88% of money lost to APP scams and claimed back was reimbursed – that’s £112m returned to victims. Claim volumes are down by 15%, and firms are resolving most claims quickly – within just five days.
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Confirmation of Payee covers 99% of payments and conducts an average of 26 account checks a second.
You’ll find the speech on the FCA’s website at: The role of the FCA and PSR in delivering the National Payments Vision.
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New Retail Payment Infrastructure
From the ashes of the UK's New Payment Architecture (NPA) emerges the New Retail Payment Infrastructure (NewRPI) — but will it be the phoenix our industry needs?
As the journey to a NewRPI commences we'll be bringing insights, analysis, and conversations on the future of payments infrastructure in the United Kingdom.
Free from corporate or regulatory agendas, who is better placed to lead the discussion on the NewRPI than Mike Chambers — the driving force behind NewBacs, Faster Payments adoption and part of the original NewCHAPS journey?
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