Morning, Thursday, 16th April 2026
Online
This conference will discuss next steps for UK payments infrastructure, regulation and innovation, and the way forward for development and growth of the UK payments services sector. The discussion takes place in the context of the Payments Vision Delivery Committee’s work to take forward objectives from the 2024 National Payments Vision, including their November 2025 Strategy for Future Retail Payments Infrastructure and forthcoming Payments Forward Plan.
Payments infrastructure rollout
Delegates will assess practical priorities for transforming UK payments infrastructure and supporting new and existing forms of digital money. Areas for consideration include the rollout of future retail payments infrastructure, options for improving consumer choice and incorporating inclusivity by design, and approaches for encouraging public uptake of new payments solutions across different customer groups and channels.
Regulation & collaboration
Further discussion will look at next steps for developing emerging payments use cases within Open Finance, including next steps for industry and the Financial Conduct Authority in establishing the Future Entity for open banking, as well as stakeholder views on the forthcoming open finance roadmap, expected by March 2026. Attendees will consider regulatory clarity needed for early adopters of commercial schemes (such as commercial Variable Recurring Payments), the development of technological frameworks that can support safe scaling, and investment and collaboration needed from banks, fintechs and merchants to deliver reliable, user-centred services.
Options for regulatory reform of payments systems will be examined, following HM Treasury’s consultation on moving the functions of the Payment Systems Regulator into the FCA. Delegates will assess priorities for streamlining the regulatory environment for firms, maintaining proportionate requirements that can support market growth while protecting consumers and businesses, and aligning future frameworks with innovation in areas such as tokenised deposits, stablecoins and agentic payments, particularly in the context of the ongoing Bank of England consultation on a new regulatory regime for stablecoins.
There will be a focus on risk and resilience, with attendees considering how firms can embed fraud protection and customer safeguards by design, make effective use of digital verification and AI in prevention, and prepare for compliance with the FCA’s updated safeguarding regime for payments and e-money firms by May 2026.
Overview of areas for discussion
- National Payments Vision delivery:
- examining the work of the Payments Vision Delivery Committee - Strategy for Future Retail Payments Infrastructure implementation
- the roadmap for the Payments Forward Plan - enhancing Pay.UK legacy payments systems - developing new systems for medium and long-term security
- open banking and finance:
- structure, governance, and operation of the Future Entity - account-to-account payments
- expanding use cases for commercial Variable Recurring Payments - the role of open banking in advancing financial inclusion - implications of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025
- payment systems regulation:
- transfer of functions of the Payment Systems Regulator to the FCA - reconciling priorities for innovation, growth and proportionate oversight
- views on the regulatory regime for stablecoins - oversight of card scheme processing fees and cross-border fees
- financial inclusion
- the role of payments in the new Financial Inclusion Strategy - ensuring payments infrastructure protects vulnerable consumers from disadvantage - integrating inclusion into design
- innovation:
- options for a new UK stablecoin regulatory regime - cross-border interoperability - the way forward for tokenised deposits and programmable payments
- the role of regulatory and industry-led sandboxes and pilots - responsible integration of AI in payment processes
- fraud and consumer protection:
- incorporating fraud prevention by design into new infrastructure - latest developments in identification and response to emerging security threats
- implementation of Digital Verification Services - assessing UK impacts of the EU payments anti-fraud framework
- market access and competition:
- assessing payments market dynamics and emerging trends - support options for new entrants - fair access for new payment providers - issues of dominance and opacity in card markets
- resilience and safeguarding:
- preparing for the new FCA safeguarding regime planned for May 2026 - advancing risk management and wind-down planning
- managing operational resilience in real-time payments - building risk management capacity for SMEs
