Project XBY

Europe · GDP rank #6

United Kingdom

GB · GBP @ 1.3449/USD

The UK runs the world's most mature open-banking regime, the longest-running instant rail in the developed world, and — since October 2024 — a mandatory reimbursement scheme for authorised push-payment fraud that sets a policy precedent no other major market has matched. The May 2026 Payments Forward Plan now sequences a PSR-into-FCA merger, a Faster Payments LIMA upgrade, and commercial VRP go-live, putting the entire stack into motion at once.

Tab 08

Pulse

The preceding ~90 days of macro, regulation, product, funding and milestone events. Each item is primary-sourced; no trade-press echo.

  1. 11 days agoregulation

    HM Treasury publishes Payments Forward Plan; PSR to be folded into FCA

    The Payments Vision Delivery Committee — chaired by HM Treasury with Bank of England, FCA and PSR representation — published the Payments Forward Plan setting Q2 2026 as the start of a retail payments infrastructure design programme and confirming that the Payment Systems Regulator will be absorbed into the FCA. The plan also sequences Faster Payments and Bacs upgrades for end-2026 and a new Data (Use and Access) Act statutory instrument for Q4.

    • #psr
    • #fca
    • #regulation
    • #payments-forward-plan

    Source: HM Treasury / British Retail Consortium briefing

  2. 4 weeks agomilestone

    First live commercial VRP transactions under UK Payments Initiative scheme

    The industry-led UK Payments Initiative (UKPI) commercial Variable Recurring Payments scheme processed its first live transactions in April. The launch shifts cVRP from a JROC pilot framework into a published rulebook that PISPs and ASPSPs can join commercially, opening A2A subscription and one-off pay-by-bank use-cases previously stuck behind sweeping-only rules.

    • #open-banking
    • #vrp
    • #milestone
    • #ukpi

    Source: Open Banking Expo

  3. 6 weeks agoregulation

    Open Banking Future Entity selection enters final stage

    JROC moved to final-stage selection of the body that will take over from Open Banking Limited as the standards owner under the Data (Use and Access) Act framework. The Future Entity will inherit OBL's API specifications, conformance regime and roadmap, with funding moving from the CMA9 to an industry-wide levy administered by the FCA.

    • #open-banking
    • #regulation
    • #jroc
    • #future-entity

    Source: FCA

  4. 2 months agoregulation

    BNPL products come under FCA supervision

    Klarna, Clearpay, PayPal Pay in 3 and bank-issued instalment products became regulated credit under FCA rules on 1 April. Operators must complete affordability checks, offer Section 75 protection on qualifying transactions, and join the Financial Ombudsman scheme. Mid-market operators are absorbing the compliance cost; sub-scale players are seeking exit or merger.

    • #bnpl
    • #fca
    • #regulation

    Source: FCA

  5. 2 months agodata

    UK Finance: APP scam losses fall for first time on record

    APP scam losses dropped 11% year-on-year to £341m in 2024, the first decline since records began. UK Finance credited the PSR's October 2024 mandatory reimbursement regime, which it said has shifted incentives across both sending and receiving PSPs. Reimbursement rates now sit above 95% against a pre-mandate baseline near 65%.

    • #app-fraud
    • #uk-finance
    • #psr
    • #data

    Source: UK Finance

  6. 3 months agomilestone

    Open Banking crosses 16.5M active connections

    Open Banking Limited's December 2025 impact report showed active data and payment-initiation consents at 16.5m, up from 11m a year earlier. Variable Recurring Payments volumes tripled, with HMRC tax payments cited as the single largest commercial use-case. The expansion runs ahead of the statutory framework transition scheduled for later in 2026.

    • #open-banking
    • #vrp
    • #milestone

    Source: Open Banking Limited