The Payments Vision Delivery Committee, chaired by HM Treasury and comprising the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator, has published a Strategy for Future Retail Payments Infrastructure to guide the development of the UK’s next-generation retail payments infrastructure under the government’s National Payments Vision. The strategy sets out five strategic outcomes and signals a move beyond a like-for-like upgrade of Faster Payments and Bacs, with a priority on enabling account-to-account payments at point of sale while maintaining continuity of existing services. The five outcomes focus on: greater choice of innovative and cost-effective payment options, including Open Banking-enabled account-to-account payments at point of sale, modular overlay services, improved cross-border interoperability and continued cheque processing capability (including via cheque imaging); interoperability across a multi-money ecosystem spanning commercial bank money, e-money, tokenised deposits, stablecoins and potential future forms such as a digital pound, including exploration of “core interoperability” infrastructure; stronger protections against fraud and wider financial crime through advanced prevention and detection capabilities, robust authentication, appropriate consumer protection and secure data access and sharing; fair, transparent and non-discriminatory access to infrastructure with predictable pricing and governance; and operational and financial resilience, including high levels of protection from cyber and wider threats, sustainable funding and continued final settlement in central bank money for payments between customers of different money issuers. Delivery is framed as a multi-year programme under the public-private collaboration model announced in July 2025. The Bank of England has convened a Retail Payments Infrastructure Board to lead design and oversee delivery, while industry participants are establishing an industry-owned Delivery Company to implement the design, procure and fund the new infrastructure; the Committee will remain the senior forum for strategic trade-offs and design decisions with material impact. Pay.UK will continue to run current interbank systems and deliver short-term enhancements to Faster Payments and Bacs, and interim private-sector innovations are welcomed only where they align with and can integrate into the longer-term direction.
HM Treasury 2025-11-07
HM Treasury chaired Payments Vision Delivery Committee publishes strategy for next generation UK retail payments infrastructure
The Payments Vision Delivery Committee, chaired by HM Treasury, released a Strategy for Future Retail Payments Infrastructure to advance UK retail payments under the National Payments Vision. It outlines five strategic outcomes, emphasizing account-to-account payments at point of sale, enhanced cross-border interoperability, and robust fraud protection. A multi-year programme will be led by the Bank of England's Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, with industry collaboration for implementation and oversight.