Back in December 2023, I wrote about The Future of UK Payments report that had just been published. It contained many things, not least the strong view that a National Payments Vision was required. This vision has been subsequently described as:

The National Payments Vision sets out the government’s ambition for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs. Two key foundations need to be in place to deliver this ambition: a clear, predictable and proportionate regulatory framework, and resilient payments infrastructure that supports innovation.

Much work has been undertaken in the meantime including the creation of a steering committee to deliver this vision. Their terms of reference are here. It should be noted that the committee is impressive in make up – it includes many good names, including former colleagues and clients who I admire, giving me hope that this isn’t just an academic exercise. Much has happened along the way, including the announcement of disbanding the Payment Systems Regulator. July 15th saw the release of a significant update, where the Treasury set out its policy proposals. It contained many points that the industry will be pouring over. These include that the Bank of England will chair a new Retail Payments Infrastructure Board (RPIB), which will guide infrastructure design.

There will also be a new Delivery Company which will procure and fund the “next-gen” infrastructure, and is chaired by Vim Maru. Vim is the CEO of Barclays, highlighting the visibility and weight that this project has.

Pay.UK will continues to maintain and incrementally improve current systems. Pay.UK always had a difficult task in previous guises, so hopefully this clearer role definition will help take pressure off them. There is also to be a clearer link to Government policy, feeding into the Chancellor’s broader Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy.

So what does this mean? It looks like the Government has listened to all parties, and managed to balance addressing many of the issues, without throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. That said, I suspect for some it won’t go far enough, even though many options would seem to be on the table for consideration.

The next phase then will be critical. It’s not just level of detail that is required and critical (we payment geeks are detailed orientated!), but how quickly that detail is available. It isn’t just that there may be new forms of digital money to consider, but also that many of the existing infrastructures are ageing. Replacing them isn’t (and shouldn’t) be quick and simple, let alone for them to be world class. The NPA (New Payments Architecture) was supposed to have replaced much of that infrastructure already. That puts the infrastructure in a difficult position – investment is likely required to keep the existing infrastructure going, but how much investment, and who pays is a thorny question.