Wire · founder news, decoded · technology
Modernising UK payments: HM Treasury's proposed overhaul of the payment services regime -
◆ Published
21 July 2026
◆ Topic
technology
◆ Sectors
◆ Geography
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◆ Verified
Fusion42 · 21 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
HM Treasury has launched a 12-week consultation on modernising UK payments regulation, proposing to shift technical requirements from legislation into FCA rules whilst keeping core consumer protections statutory. The overhaul covers tokenised payments, open banking reforms, and agentic payments, with implementation via secondary legislation.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Fintech. Wire is Fusion42's founder-focused intelligence feed: each story is connected to the funds and startups it names — every one with a live profile on Raise or Scout — so founders can follow the capital and the momentum behind the headline rather than just the headline itself. Wire analysis is one of the live surfaces Arthur reasons over.
◆ The Wire takeaway
If you build payment infrastructure in the UK, the rulebook is being rewritten to move faster than statute allows - and the FCA's new powers to set outcomes-focused authentication and fraud rules mean your compliance burden could drop whilst your risk appetite grows. Comments close 6 October; the firms that shape this consultation will write their own moat.
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- UK Government Open Consultation: Modernising Payment Services Regulation15 July 2026
- The UK's stablecoin regime: a two-tier framework for non-systemic and systemic issuers16 July 2026
- U.S., UK align regulation on stablecoins and tokenisation, issue joint recommendations16 July 2026
◆ Topics
Fintech · payments-regulation · tokenisation · open-banking · fca-rulemaking · stablecoins