trending
Britain’s payments industry overwhelmingly supports the government’s attempt to modernise the country’s retail payment infrastructure, but confidence in its ability to deliver the transformation is considerably less certain.
UK payments changes wins industry backing
Research from technology consultancy CI&T found that 82% of 350 UK payments leaders support the National Payments Vision, the government’s blueprint for creating a more competitive, secure and technologically advanced payments ecosystem. Yet just 29% said they were very confident about how the programme would work in practice.
The divide is striking because support rises to 95% among executive and strategic leaders. The problem, it appears, is not the destination but the route.
From payments vision to execution
HM Treasury launched the National Payments Vision in November 2024, partly in response to concerns that overlapping regulation and ageing infrastructure were constraining innovation.
Nearly two years later, attention has shifted firmly towards implementation. The Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, chaired by the Bank of England, has just closed its consultation on the design of Britain’s next-generation retail payments infrastructure.
The CI&T research suggests the industry wants considerably greater certainty over what happens next.
Remarkably, 349 of the 350 respondents expect communication problems around the programme. The delivery roadmap and milestones were the most commonly cited concern, at 33%, while regulatory alignment and the testing, migration and readiness requirements facing participants were each cited by 30%.
That matters because payments infrastructure cannot simply be switched from one generation to another. Banks, fintechs and payment providers must continue processing transactions while simultaneously adapting systems, controls and operational processes.
Evolution rather than a payments big bang
The industry’s preference therefore appears to be for pragmatic modernisation rather than wholesale replacement.
Some 85% of respondents believe the new infrastructure must work with systems already serving the UK market, rising to 98% among executive and strategic leaders.
There is no overwhelming consensus about the architecture. Selective replacement attracted 30% support, while parallel running, modernised data standards, targeted integration and new testing and assurance processes were all close behind.
What is clearer is the importance attached to resilience: 82% want robust testing before changes enter production.
That points towards an evolutionary migration in which new capabilities are introduced alongside existing infrastructure rather than a single high-risk cutover.
Brazil’s Pix offers lessons – but not a template
Brazil’s Pix inevitably looms large in the debate. Some 97% of respondents believe Britain can learn from the instant payment system, which CI&T says now reaches about 93% of Brazil’s adult population.
The attraction is understandable. Pix demonstrates what can happen when modern infrastructure, widespread participation and a clear implementation framework come together.
But Britain’s challenge is different. It already possesses a mature, highly interconnected payments market encompassing cards, Faster Payments and other established infrastructure. Modernisation therefore has to preserve what works while creating space for what comes next.
The National Payments Vision has evidently won the argument over whether Britain needs change.
The harder task now begins: convincing the industry that the UK can actually deliver it.
Comments