The UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has published a report on the Bank of England's modernisation of the Real-Time Gross Settlement System, presenting it as a rare example of successful public sector digital transformation and directing its recommendations to government rather than the Bank. The RTGS system underpins all sterling payment systems in the UK and settles about GBP 790 bn of transactions per day. The committee attributes the outcome to strong leadership and stable governance, detailed planning and design supported by specialist input and industry consultation, and a competitive dialogue procurement that allowed bidders to develop proposals before contract award and included paid trial builds by two unsuccessful bidders. It also highlights the Bank's decision to move off legacy technology before it became a crisis, its use of four replans to adjust scope, timelines and costs, and a 'no surprises' culture that encouraged early escalation of concerns through an anonymous transparency channel. The report says government should learn these lessons for future programmes, while the Bank of England now needs to carry through its plans for maintenance and further enhancement of the system as the payments landscape evolves. Estimated annual running costs have almost doubled to GBP 41 m.
UK Parliament 2026-04-28
UK Parliament Public Accounts Committee urges government to use Bank of England RTGS modernisation as a model for digital reform
The UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has published a report on the Bank of England’s modernisation of the Real-Time Gross Settlement System, calling it a rare example of successful public sector digital transformation and directing recommendations to government. The report credits strong leadership, stable governance, detailed planning, specialist input, industry consultation and innovative procurement, and urges government to apply these lessons to future programmes. It notes that the Bank must now deliver on maintenance and further enhancements as the payments landscape evolves, with estimated annual running costs almost doubling to GBP 41 m.