Today’s announcement is a pragmatic next step in simplifying and clarifying payments regulation. We welcome the government’s commitment to maintaining effective regulation of payment systems, which was a gap before the PSR was set up.
Since then, the payments sector has dramatically changed, particularly over recent years. The PSR has played a central role, supporting open banking and innovation, opening up access to payment systems, promoting competition, and introducing world leading protections for victims of fraud. Colleagues should rightly be proud of all they have achieved.
We’re committed to working with government, the FCA and the Bank of England as decisions are taken on the transfer of regulatory responsibilities and, when they are, help ensure the process is smooth. Legislation will take time, but we do not need to wait to realise the benefits of an even more streamlined regulatory approach. Doing so builds on recent work bringing the PSR and FCA closer together. We have, for example, already joined the managing director of the PSR role with that of executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA.
In the meantime, as the Government has been clear, there is an important role still to do on ensuring payment systems are competitive, innovative and safe.