In this thought piece, Dan Moore, our Head of Strategy, Analysis and Engagement, discusses the mid-point review of our five-year strategy.
Our 2022 strategy set out our strategic outcomes and priorities for the next five years. Guided by the strategy, we are focussed on:
- Ensuring users have continued access to the payment services they rely on and support a choice of payment options;
- Ensuring users are sufficiently protected when using the UK's payment systems;
- Promoting competition between UK payment systems and the markets supported by them; protecting users where that competition is not sufficient; and
- Acting to ensure the interbank systems provide the infrastructure, rules and incentives that foster innovation and competition in payments.
In delivering against these priorities, we are continuing our work to fulfil the outcomes as set out below, and fulfil our core role – to protect the interests of people and businesses, and to promote competition and innovation, in payments.
We are approaching the mid-point of our five-year strategy and are making important progress in delivering against our outcomes and priorities. For example, we are working to realise the benefits of open banking, including to ensure that account-to-account retail payments bring opportunities for new services and allow more convenient and efficient ways to pay. We are also preparing for a step-change in the incentives on firms to tackle Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud as part of our commitment to preventing as much fraud as we can.
But it is important that we keep our strategy under review in the light of developments since we first put it in place. And we must also keep our eyes on what the future might bring. The payments industry is fast-paced and agile, and as a regulator to continue to be impactful we must ensure we are responsive to new developments in the payments landscape, while championing new ideas to address the needs of everyone who makes and receives payments. From the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to the expansion of big tech firms into payments, there continue to be clear signs of change in the policy and strategy environment.
And that is why, as we approach the halfway point of our strategy, we are kicking off our “mid-strategy review” – a review of the strategy to help assess our progress and determine whether our strategic outcomes and priorities remain the right ones, or whether we need to adapt or refine them. Our review will reflect on the progress we have made to-date, including the challenges and opportunities that will shape our work going forward.
Hearing from our stakeholders
As part of this midpoint review, it is important that we hear directly from our stakeholders on how you view our progress and the issues that are most important to you – as well as any changes you think are needed.
Close collaboration with our stakeholders is essential to our work in delivering on our strategy and ensuring we are focused on the right things. Our ongoing engagement with industry, consumers, businesses and regulatory colleagues helps keep us informed about the sector and shape our thinking.
How to find out more and get involved
Over the next few months, to inform our review, we invite stakeholders across the payments landscape – this includes representatives of the businesses and consumers that use the payment systems we regulate – give their views on our strategy.
We will be discussing the review in roundtables and as part of our ongoing engagement with stakeholders.
We are also launching a stakeholder survey, to better understand your perceptions of our work. The survey, which will be live until 4th June, is being conducted by an independent research agency, and responses will be strictly anonymous. The survey should take less than ten minutes to complete, and your participation would be greatly appreciated.
You can access the survey via the link here.
We very much welcome feedback and look forward to directly engaging with as many of you as we can in the process.
For any additional queries or to speak with a member of the team, please contact psrstrategy@psr.org.uk. We are particularly keen to hear from you if you have views on the review which you would like to contribute.