This is the PSR’s first Annual Plan and sets out our key aims and activities up to April 2015 when we become fully operational.
The PSR’s overall aim for 2014/2015 has been and continues to be to build an organisation and develop our policies so they are fit for regulating designated payment systems. To do this, we have focused on three areas, each of equal priority:
- People
- Processes
- Policies
Each of these is vital for the PSR to successfully carry out and fulfil its role and advance its objectives. We will also continue to work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), with other regulators and with existing and new stakeholders.
Our people
We expect to need around 50 employees from April 2015, and are currently recruiting permanent staff with the skills and experience we require. Our overall team includes industry experts, economists, lawyers, policy and communications professionals, each bringing different skills, experience and expertise.
Our processes
We have followed a robust design process to ensure we are building the capabilities we need, some of which will be provided by the FCA.
We are also setting up the regulatory framework in which we will operate, e.g. outlining how we propose to run investigations and handle disputes, and also what regulated entities can expect from us. We are also establishing the PSR statutory panel to represent the interests of payment system participants and service-users. We will seek feedback from the panel as we develop our policies and practices.
Our policies
To develop our initial policies, directions and guidance, and identify future priorities, we are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, through individual meetings, events and questionnaires. These have covered a number of policy workstreams:
- Regulatory approach
- Governance and ownership of payment systems
- Access to payment systems
- Competition and collaboration
- Innovation in payment systems
- Infrastructure
These, together with a number of external reports we have commissioned, have supported us in developing our initial proposals, on which we which are currently consulting.
The annual plan also sets out:
- how we will work with other regulators and competition authorities
- our budget for the year to April 2015
- how we will recover these costs