United Kingdom HM Treasury has launched a consultation on overhauling the UK framework for payment services and electronic money, centred on the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and Electronic Money Regulations 2011. The consultation proposes a more flexible model in which some detailed firm-facing requirements would move from legislation to Financial Conduct Authority rules, while core perimeter definitions and key statutory protections would remain in law. It also seeks views on how the regime should adapt to tokenised payments, Open Banking and agentic payments without weakening consumer protection, security or market integrity. On tokenised payments, the government proposes bringing certain stablecoins used for payments into the payments perimeter, but only where they are issued in the UK or in a jurisdiction formally recognised by HM Treasury. It also proposes a single set of regulated payment activities covering both fiat and tokenised payments, with existing authorised or registered firms needing a variation of permission to offer tokenised payment services. For stablecoins used in payments, HM Treasury is considering whether issuers authorised under the new cryptoasset issuance regime should be able to provide payment services without separate permissions, and it intends in the long term for safeguarding conducted in the course of payment services to sit under the payments regime rather than the cryptoasset safeguarding regime. On Open Banking, the consultation proposes a new statutory right of access to support variable recurring payments, broader FCA powers under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 over interfaces, standards, pricing, the Future Entity and commercial Open Banking schemes, and possible changes to the current assumption that access must be provided free of charge. The consultation closes on 6 October 2026. Any changes to the existing framework would be implemented through secondary legislation, with further detail on implementation to follow after the consultation, and the government reiterated its plan to lay a statutory instrument under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 by the end of 2026 to establish the long-term Open Banking framework.
HM Treasury2026-07-14
United Kingdom HM Treasury launches consultation on modernising payment services regulation, including FCA rulemaking, tokenised payments and Open Banking
United Kingdom HM Treasury has opened a consultation on modernising payment services and electronic money regulation, including shifting some detailed requirements from legislation to Financial Conduct Authority rules. The proposals cover bringing certain UK-issued and recognised-jurisdiction stablecoins into the payments perimeter, creating a single permissions framework for fiat and tokenised payments, and establishing a new Open Banking right of access for variable recurring payments. The consultation also outlines wider FCA powers over Open Banking standards, pricing and scheme governance.