UK plan paves pathway to payments reforms

In 2024 HM Treasury promised a Payments Forward Plan to sequence future initiatives for the UK payments sector. The Plan has now arrived and sets out a roadmap for payments regulation over the next three years. Payments firms should use this paper to help manage their resources for future regulatory change.

HMT created the Payments Vision Delivery Committee to deliver its National Payments Vision. The Committee brings together representatives from HMT, the Bank of England, Financial Conduct Authority and Payment Systems Regulator. The Committee has now published the Payments Forward Plan to provide transparency on upcoming payments-related public sector activities and how they support delivery of the National Payments Vision.

The Plan brings together workstreams across retail payments, wholesale payments and digital assets. Here are some milestones for the coming months:

March 2026

• Changes to contactless limits come into force

• FCA to publish its market focus report for the non-bank payments sector

• HMT to respond to its consultations on consolidating the PSR into the FCA and on reform of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)

Q2 2026

• New FCA safeguarding rules come into force

• Bank of England to consider offering overnight safeguarding facilities to e-money and payment institutions that hold a Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) settlement account

• HMT to consult on modernising payment services regulation, including the approach to Open Banking and stablecoin payments

• FCA to open an engagement paper on its approach to replacing assimilated payment services law with handbook rules

• Bank of England to finalise its rules for systemic stablecoins and propose an approach with the FCA for dual regulation of systemic stablecoins

• The Competition and Markets Authority plans to consult on potential interventions in relation to digital wallets

• Retail Payments Infrastructure Board to consult on its next steps

• HMT to publish an update on reform of the Consumer Credit Act

Q3 2026

• FCA to open gateway for cryptoasset firms to apply for authorisation, including stablecoin issuers

• PSR to publish independent evaluation of its policy on authorised push payment (APP) fraud

• HMT to consult on options for increasing the fee cap for systemic payment systems

• FCA to consult on long-term regulatory framework interface rules for Open Banking

• HMT to respond to the PESAR review