The government will unveil plans to overhaul Britain’s payments infrastructure, which will involve the Bank of England being given a more powerful oversight role.
Sky News has learned that Treasury officials have given the green light to a new ‘Payments Vision’, details of which will be outlined at the Mansion House annual dinner this week.
Whitehall sources said Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to address the issue as part of her speech on Thursday evening, amid concerns the UK is lagging behind its global rivals in areas of innovation and payment infrastructure.
The performance of the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) has long been a cause for complaint among industry and government stakeholders, while the fragmented nature of payments oversight has also fueled concerns about its effectiveness.
The Financial Conduct Authority, for example, is responsible for access to cash, while the PSR manages the Authorized Push Payment (APP) fraud management framework.
An insider said the chancellor wanted to see “a more consistent approach” to payments, with the Bank of England set to play a more central role in implementing it.
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The announcement is likely to be part of a busy schedule at Mansion House as Ms Reeves tries to regain control of the discourse on the economy following a blistering response to her first Budget.
She is reportedly set to announce plans to consolidate hundreds of billions of pounds of local authority pension assets, while financial regulators will see a shift in their remit to promote Britain’s competitiveness.
Sky News revealed on Monday that the Treasury is expected to launch the search for a new boss for the FCA early next year, amid growing expectations that Nikhil Rathi will not fill a second role. five-year term.
The Treasury declined to comment on Tuesday.