King’s Speech Signals End of PSR as FCA Takes Over Payments Oversight
In the King’s Speech on 13 May 2026, the UK government announced that the Payment Systems Regulator will be folded into the Financial Conduct Authority. The consolidation is intended to eliminate regulatory duplication, streamline decision‑making and provide a single supervisory body for the fast‑moving payments sector. The FCA will assume the PSR’s remit over competition, consumer protection and payment‑system oversight while continuing initiatives on fraud prevention, open banking and innovation. The move raises questions about the future scope of FCA powers and potential shifts in regulatory policy.
The Card That Changed Everything: 60 Years Ago This Year
On June 29, 1966 Barclaycard launched the United Kingdom’s first consumer credit card, initially accepted at 30,000 retailers. The launch broke a banking advertising taboo and sparked a shift in how British consumers and merchants handle money. Over six decades,...
Scammed, Silent and Out of Pocket
New research from the Central Bank of Ireland shows 35% of Irish adults fell victim to financial fraud in 2024, with total payment fraud losses reaching €160 million (about $174 million), a 24.5% year‑over‑year rise. Online purchase scams were the most common,...
Regulate, Consolidate, Reduce
Britain’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) released its 2026/27 annual plan, its likely final independent roadmap before merging into the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulator will operate on a £26 million budget—about $33 million—representing a 7% cut, while recovering £21.5 million (~$27 million) from fee‑paying...
Navigating Change with Confidence
On 18 May 2026, senior women in finance will gather at Oracle’s Helicon headquarters in London for “Navigating Change with Confidence.” The free, half‑day session targets CFOs, finance directors and senior finance leaders confronting funding pressure, fragmented data systems, and...
Tomorrow's World
A recent post revisits the 1969 Point‑of‑Sale (POS) system used by Barclays, highlighting its reliance on a mainframe and on‑site data center. The rollout suffered multi‑year delays and required batch processing, which limited real‑time transaction insight. The legacy platform was...
Payment Leaders Summit
In this episode, the host previews his live participation at the Payment Leaders Summit in London, where he'll moderate three sessions: one on commercial variable recurring payments (VRP) and bank‑on‑file solutions, another roundtable on open banking and open finance from...
The Final Hurdle to Overcome in Achieving Payments Modernisation
Swift is rolling out ISO 20022‑enabled Case Management to automate the still‑manual exception and investigation (E&I) process that currently takes five to ten days and costs the industry about $1.6 billion annually. The new framework replaces unstructured MT messages with structured ISO 20022...
Future-Proofing UK Payments
The UK’s payments ecosystem is undergoing a strategic overhaul under the National Payments Vision and the Payments Vision Delivery Committee (PVDC) strategy. Central to the transformation is the shift to ISO 20022 messaging, which promises richer data and aligns with G20...
Maximising Liquidity and Cash Visibility: Strategies for Banks and NBFIs
Bottomline and Strategic Treasurer hosted a session on liquidity and cash visibility, revealing that only 34% of banks and NBFIs have a single consolidated cash view. While 45% have introduced some automation, it falls short of enabling real‑time decision making,...
RTGS CHAPS Industry Forum
The Bank of England has opened nominations for a new RTGS CHAPS Industry Forum, seeking about 15 senior external members from banks, fintechs, large corporates and other stakeholders. The advisory body will help shape the design, development and operation of...
Mastercard Explores Sale of Nets Real-Time Payments Business
Mastercard has engaged investment bankers to explore selling the real‑time payments business it bought from Denmark’s Nets in 2019 for $3.2 billion. The unit, which produces roughly $370 million in revenue and $100 million EBITDA, is expected to fetch a price below its...
Maximising Collections to Deliver Business Value: A Modern Direct Debit Imperative
Mark Bish’s blog highlights Pay.UK’s Direct Debit rule 5.8, which now lets businesses challenge indemnity claims under reason code 4, curbing fraudulent disputes. The update tightens onboarding standards, demanding stronger validation and verification to avoid sanctions. He also stresses that automation,...
Payments Forward Plan
The Payments Vision Delivery Committee released the Payments Forward Plan, a three‑year roadmap outlining the future of payments. The plan targets faster, more secure, and interoperable transaction infrastructure, bringing together banks, fintechs, and regulators. It highlights real‑time settlement, digital identity,...
On Fire or In Freefall?
Pay.UK’s latest Direct Debit sector data shows a mixed performance across categories. Business‑to‑business collections surged 35% over two years, with business rates jumping 63%, while life insurance subscriptions rose 52% and breakdown cover grew 15% annually. Conversely, charity donations, mobile...