computerweekly15h ago
<p>The UK government has declared its intention to modernise payment services regulation, updating it to support innovations in money and payments, according to an HM Treasury statement. It is also set to publish a consultation inviting feedback from the payments sector.</p> <p>Lucy Rigby, economic secretary to the HM Treasury, said: “Fintech is a true British success story, and we are backing the industry to maintain its competitive edge and go even further and faster in driving growth.</p> <p>Rigby will attend events during Fintech Week in London to promote the government’s efforts in maintaining the UK as the leading destination for fintechs to start, scale and succeed, said the Treasury.</p> <p>“Today’s package is our latest stake in the ground as we build a payments ecosystem that is secure, competitive and fully equipped to harness the opportunities created by rapid technological change,” said Rigby.</p> <p>Britain is a world-leading destination for fintech, second only to the US in <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366636986/UK-regains-second-spot-in-global-fintech-investment-ranking">global fintech investment rankings</a>. More than 3,000 fintech firms operate in the country, which account for tens of thousands of jobs.</p> <p>Revolut – a UK-headquartered fintech firm – <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366634852/UK-digital-bank-Revolut-sees-value-jump-23bn-in-a-year">reported a £23bn value jump last year</a>, bringing the company to £57bn. The digital bank has since been called Britain’s “leading technology company” by <a href="https://thefinanser.com/"><em>The Finanser</em></a> CEO Chris Skinner. But in 2025, fintech investment in the UK fell to <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639023/UK-fintech-investment-slumped-in-2025">its lowest level since 2020</a>.</p> <p>Now, during this week’s London Fintech Week, the government is announcing strategies to grow Britain’s fintech industry, keep pace with technological progress and protect consumers. As part of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-fintech-backed-to-embrace-future-payments-technology">the announced plan</a>, the government has committed to spending a additional £1m to fund the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) from April to continue the centre’s work facilitating collaboration across the fintech sector.</p> <p>The plan includes:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Bringing the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA);</li> <li>Laying out a single framework for both traditional and tokenised payment;</li> <li>Setting guidelines on how payment service regulation should respond to AI agents conducting purchases for customers and businesses;</li> <li>And regulating stablecoins use while cutting administrative burdens for companies who want to provide stablecoins payments.</li> </ul> <p>Alongside this, the government is appointing Chris Woolard CBE as wholesale digital market’s champion to make the country’s financial sector more competitive.</p> <p>Woolard praised British investment in the sector, claiming the country offers “a thriving startup ecosystem, global banks and insurers, and leading universities”, as well as regulators who keep up with innovation to let firms “test, learn and scale responsibly”.</p> <p>Ultimately, he called for open dialogue between the private and public sectors to create a tokenised wholesale financial markets ecosystem. To improve communication, the government will publish a consultation, asking the payment sector for feedback.</p> <p>This isn’t the first step in Britain’s path to fintech leadership. A few months ago, the government decided to establish itself as globally competitive by creating a financial service regulatory regime for crypto assets. Recently, the FCA <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366641736/Finance-regulator-outlines-its-open-finance-vision">outlined its open finance plan for 2030</a>, which set out <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/corporate-documents/open-finance-roadmap">a roadmap</a> to giving consumers and businesses more control over their financial data.</p> <p>In a press release, stakeholder Philip Belamant, co-founder and CEO of Zilch, said: “The UK has a real opportunity to lead globally in enabling agentic finance, helping consumers benefit from smarter, more efficient ways to manage their money.”</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">Read more about UK fintech</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Artificial intelligence is now <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366638913/Artificial-intelligence-now-finance-sectors-connective-tissue">the “connective tissue” of the finance sector</a>.</li> <li>Why <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366639023/UK-fintech-investment-slumped-in-2025">UK’s fintech investment slumped in 2025</a>.</li> <li>British government <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366637579/UK-government-appoints-banking-tech-bosses-as-AI-champions">appoints fintech leaders as AI champions</a>.</li> </ul> </div> </div>
