HM Treasury has launched a consultation on changes to the fee regime that supports the Bank of England’s supervision of recognised payment systems and related service providers. The proposals would bring digital settlement asset service providers, and service providers connected to them, into the regime and increase the maximum annual fees that can be charged, aligning the charging framework with the Bank’s expanded remit under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. Under the proposals, the current supervision fee cap would rise from GBP 760,000 to GBP 1.7 million per in-scope system or provider in any one year, while the Special Project Fee cap would increase from GBP 500,000 to GBP 650,000. HM Treasury said the higher supervision cap reflects increased oversight costs since 2018, including more intensive operational resilience work, inflation and expected policy activity in payments. The revised scope would allow the Bank to recover costs for supervising digital settlement asset service providers once one is formally recognised by HM Treasury. Actual fees would continue to be consulted on annually by the Bank of England and cannot exceed the Bank’s supervisory costs. The consultation closes on 31 August 2026. HM Treasury said it will use responses to inform final policy decisions and will work with the Bank of England on whether transitional arrangements are needed if new fee caps take effect part way through a fee year.
HM Treasury2026-07-15
HM Treasury consults on extending payment systems fee regime to digital settlement asset providers, raising caps to GBP 1.7 million and GBP 650,000
HM Treasury is consulting on changes to the Bank of England’s payment systems fee regime. It proposes adding digital settlement asset service providers to the scope and raising the annual supervision fee cap to GBP 1.7 million and the Special Project Fee cap to GBP 650,000. Final decisions will follow the consultation, which closes on 31 August 2026.