The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) recently delivered a robust update on its operations in the 2022/23 period.
In this update, it indicated that it successfully leveraged its regulatory powers to promote innovation, competition, and secure transactions in the UK’s FinTech space. Approximately 400 additional firms were directed to provide the Confirmation of Payee service, enhancing protection against fraud.
Measures were implemented in the card-acquiring market to foster competition, with two more enforcement cases settled.
In an unprecedented move, Sterling Fnality Payment System became the first regulated distributed ledger technology payment system globally, indicating a strong emphasis on embracing modern FinTech solutions. PSR also shared its vision for open banking to evolve sustainably, safely, and at scale.
The PSR met all commitments outlined in its 2022/23 annual plan, with key actions such as introducing stronger fraud protections and encouraging industry-wide changes to combat fraud. The regulator laid the foundation for firms to fully reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud and directed 14 of the largest UK payment service provider groups to disclose their fraud statistics.
Measures to improve choice and competition in card payment services were introduced, focusing on making it easier for businesses, particularly SMEs, to find suitable card payment services. The PSR’s work with Pay.UK saw significant progression in the New Payments Architecture (NPA), a system set to replace Faster Payments.
The report also noted the PSR’s contribution to the evolution of open banking and the creation of a new Supervision and Compliance Monitoring division to enhance monitoring of industry compliance.
PSR Managing Director Chris Hemsley said, “We’ve made great strides over the last year – the first of our five-year Strategy – bringing about changes which have had a positive impact on people and payments in the UK. I look forward to continuing our ambitious, engagement-led approach into the year ahead.”
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