UK payments regulation, open banking, FCA, PSR, scheme governance
Quick answer. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is the UK regulator for designated payment systems under Part 5 of the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 (FSBRA 2013). HM Treasury has consulted on abolishing the PSR and transferring its functions to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The consultation closed on 20 October 2025 and a…
In short: The UK’s open banking advantage is an infrastructure advantage, not an interface one. A shared directory, a common dispute management system and a governed API standard, built out under the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017, make the rails usable at scale. That infrastructure is the platform on which successor Smart Data regimes, enabled…
In short: UK payment firms reimbursed £173 million to APP fraud victims in year one of the PSR’s mandatory regime under Specific Direction 20. The payments sector bears all reimbursement costs, but APP fraud originates across telecoms, social media and messaging platforms. The Q2 2026 FCA/PSR review will consider whether the current single-sector liability model…
From 15 July 2026, BNPL firms must hold FCA authorisation or rely on the Temporary Permissions Regime. What PS26/1 and SI 2025/859 require now.
The FCA supplementary safeguarding regime under CASS 15 takes effect on 7 May 2026. This compliance checklist covers the operational requirements for payment institutions and e-money institutions: daily reconciliation, monthly reporting, annual audit, resolution packs and third-party due diligence.
The PSR FCA consolidation transfers all PSR functions to the FCA. What changes for payment service providers, scheme participants, and payment system operators.
The FCA and PSR regulate UK payment services, payment systems and electronic money. Guide to authorisation, enforcement powers and the PSR consolidation.
Agentic AI payments raise an unresolved question in UK payments law: can an AI agent give valid consent under PSRs 2017 Reg 67? Analysis of the regulatory gap and what it means for fintechs and payment institutions.
FCA safeguarding reform is now weeks away from taking effect. The FCA published its Payments Regulatory Priorities report on 25 March 2026, confirming that keeping customers’ money safe remains its primary concern for the payments sector. The message to payment institutions and electronic money institutions is direct: the Safeguarding Supplementary Regime takes effect on 7…
On 26 February 2026, the Payments Vision Delivery Committee published the Payments Forward Plan, the first coordinated regulatory roadmap for UK payments since the National Payments Vision in November 2024. The Plan sets out what the Bank of England, the FCA, the PSR and HM Treasury intend to do across retail payments, wholesale payments and…
The EU agreed PSD3 and the Payment Services Regulation in November 2025, overhauling fraud liability, open banking and e-money rules. The UK is not bound by PSD3, but its own payments reform is heading in a similar direction. What firms operating across both regimes need to know.
To all my readers, thank you and goodbye. This blog is now an ex-blog.