Friday Focus with Payments:Unpacked

The UK’s reliance on paper checks has collapsed to almost nothing, with the Office for National Statistics reporting just 77 million checks written in the 12 months to January 2026 – roughly 0.9 checks per resident. This dramatic decline mirrors a broader global shift toward digital payments and raises questions about the future of legacy banking infrastructure, from check‑book issuance to physical mail services that once supported paper‑based transactions.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England’s decision to open the CHAPS real‑time gross settlement window at 1:30 am reflects a strategic move to align UK sterling settlement with global trading hours, especially in Asian markets. At the same time, the Swedish central bank’s recommendation that households keep about £80 in cash for emergencies sparked a poll on Payments Unpacked, revealing that 63% of respondents are now holding more cash amid worldwide financial turbulence. These trends highlight a growing awareness of liquidity risk and the need for resilient cash‑access strategies despite the digital‑first payment environment.

The evolution of Faster Payments illustrates how the UK transformed its payment rails, moving from the abandoned “Ellie” model to an instant‑payment ecosystem handling billions of transactions daily. Coupled with emerging discussions on stablecoins and the proposed new retail payment infrastructure (RPI), the payments landscape is poised for another overhaul. Host Mike Chambers uses Substack Live’s Friday Focus to surface these shifts, inviting industry professionals to engage on topics ranging from legacy settlement systems to the future role of digital currencies in the UK’s financial ecosystem.