In August 2015 we consulted on changes to the calculation and collection method for the 2015/16 PSR regulatory fees.
Today we are publishing the Policy Statement PS 15/25 which sets out the responses to our consultation and our feedback, as well as the resulting FCA decisions and fees rules for the PSR.
We are funded entirely by fees paid by the participants in the eight payment systems that we regulate.
Why are we publishing fees rules?
This document explains how the 2015/16 PSR regulatory fees will be calculated and collected from participants in regulated payment systems. These fees will be used to fund the PSR’s activities in 2015/16, and to cover the costs of setting up the PSR.
This publication confirms the decision to implement ‘indirect billing’, in which operators of regulated payment systems act as our collection agents and issue invoices to their fee-paying PSPs. Operators then pay the monies collected to us.
This ‘indirect billing’ approach will reduce the regulatory burden on industry by ensuring that PSR regulatory fees remain outside the scope of VAT and that they do not trigger the need to increase regulatory reserves held by Bacs, CHAPS and FPS.
How fees are collected to fund the PSR
We are funded by the industry we regulate, specifically the participants in the eight regulated payment systems that have been designated by HM Treasury for regulation by the PSR. We work hard to try to keep the cost of regulation as low as possible.
Once we have decided how much the annual funding requirement should be, we work with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on our fee calculation and collection approach. The FCA then decides on the policy and issues fees rules for us.
This is similar to the way the FCA also issues fees rules for the Money Advice Service, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Who does this Policy Statement affect?
This Policy Statement is relevant to participants in regulated payment systems, and in particular PSPs which operate in the United Kingdom.
This includes:
- PSPs which are direct members of Bacs, CHAPS, C&C, FPS, LINK or NICC
- acquiring or card issuing PSPs operating in the United Kingdom which are members of MasterCard or Visa
What are the next steps?
Operators and fee-paying PSPs need to make sure that they meet the following deadlines:
- Operators must issue invoices for the 2015/16 PSR regulatory fees to their direct PSP members, acquirers and card issuers operating in the UK as soon as possible so that they can pay their fees on time.
- Individual direct PSPs (in Bacs, CHAPS, C&C, FPS, LINK and NICC) and acquirers and card issuers operating in the UK (in MasterCard and Visa) must pay their 2015/16 PSR regulatory fees to their operators by 10 December 2015.
- Operators will alert the PSR of any missing payments on 11 December 2015, and the PSR will contact the relevant fee-paying PSPs about their fees.
- Operators must pay the monies collected to us by 21 December 2015.
- Fee-paying PSPs who have any questions about fees invoices should contact their operator(s) in the first instance. For more general enquiries contact us at: PSRfees@psr.org.uk
For further information
If you are interested in learning more about PSR fees, you can read: