We are calling on the UK government for recognition of the critical role that the payments industry plays in determining technology investment in the UK, and for regulation that avoids painful and unnecessary consequences.
Having met with Lord Johnson, the Minister for Investment at the Department for Business and Trade, during June 2023, we sent him an open letter to make our case.
We would like to see a progressive approach to the regulation of payments. We accept that sometimes it is difficult for regulators to achieve the right balance between innovation, competition and protecting consumers, especially when they are working against a forthcoming statutory duty to act. But some regulatory intentions stifle the growth of our industry. As a result, the UK becomes a less attractive destination for investment and some companies leave our shores entirely.
In this respect, we have highlighted what our members see as the likely unintended consequences of some of the new policies to reduce authorised push payment (APP) fraud scams.
While some of the policies to reduce this £485 million fraud problem make good sense and will go some way towards reducing APP fraud, two policies have potential unintended consequences and one has been omitted altogether.
We aim to get payments firmly on the government’s agenda and hope this is a small but important step.
Download our open letter to Lord Johnson to see how we are fighting for change.