Government announces National Payments Vision in Mansion House speech

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced the Government's National Payments Vision in her Mansion House speech on 14 November 2024, setting out what the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) describes as a vision for a trusted world leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology¹. The PSR said it worked with the Government, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Bank of England in developing the Vision, and that it welcomes both the direction it provides and the accompanying recommendations letter setting out the Government's priorities for the UK payments sector¹.

The PSR said the Chancellor set out the importance of innovation, security and competition as key pillars for the payments ecosystem, underpinned by an effective regulatory framework and resilient infrastructure¹. Its managing director, David Geale, wrote that these have been the pillars of the PSR's own strategy, which is currently under review, and that the Vision's priorities, particularly its emphasis on competition and innovation, will be key PSR priorities in future¹.

On infrastructure, the PSR said it will work with the Bank of England to clarify and refresh the requirements for the UK's retail infrastructure, including the governance arrangements needed to deliver this, and that it now intends to consult on changing its obligations on Pay.UK in relation to the New Payments Architecture¹. On open banking, it said it will deliver its current work on phase one of variable recurring payments and will shortly publish proposed next steps, working with the FCA as the FCA takes the lead for open banking¹.

On consumer protection, the PSR pointed to its APP reimbursement rules to compensate victims, which it said have been effectively implemented and are protecting consumers now, and to the expansion of Confirmation of Payee to help address fraud and payments made in error¹. It confirmed that the 12-month implementation review it had previously committed to will be independently led, and said it will publish work on the origination of fraud, including the role of social media, planned for later this year¹. It also said it will shortly publish its mid-Strategy review, and will play an active role on the Payments Vision Delivery Committee¹.

Why it matters for households

The Vision covers the systems people use to move money day to day, so changes to them reach households through the accounts and apps they already hold rather than through a new product. The PSR's stated priorities include account-to-account payments, which it says give consumers and businesses greater choice than they currently have and help drive innovation and downward pressure on costs¹. Its existing fraud refund rules for authorised push payment (APP) scams remain in place, and the review of how those rules have worked over their first 12 months will be independently led¹. Confirmation of Payee, the name-checking step used before a payment is sent, has been expanded¹. The PSR has not set out in this response what, if anything, changes for individual customers as a result of the Vision, and no dates for consumer-facing changes are given beyond the planned publications noted above¹.

What happens next

The PSR said it will shortly publish its proposed next steps on phase one of variable recurring payments, its mid-Strategy review, and its publication on the origination of fraud including the role of social media, planned for later this year¹. It intends to consult on changing its obligations on Pay.UK in relation to the New Payments Architecture, and will work with the Bank of England on requirements for the UK's retail infrastructure¹. The independently led 12-month implementation review of the APP reimbursement rules will follow¹. The Payment Systems Regulator has not given dates for the consultation or the review, and the Government's own timetable for the Vision beyond the 14 November 2024 speech has not been reported¹.