Payments watchdog won’t be abolished ‘any earlier than 2027’
The boss of the payments watchdog has said he doesn’t expect the regulator to be officially abolished any earlier than the first quarter of 2027 as criticism grows over the slow progress of reforms in the sector.
David Geale, managing director at the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), said he had “not seen the outcome” of the Treasury’s consultation on the payments regulator and did not know “the exact timings of the bill” that will be enacted to abolish the body.
“I am anticipating it’s not going to be any earlier than the first quarter of next year,” Geale told MPs on the Treasury Committee on Wednesday.
Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves announced the abolition of the PSR last year, hailed as a landmark policy to drive economy growth and cut “unnecessary regulation”.
The Chancellor months later announced the government’s National Payments Vision (NPV) in a bid to overhaul the sector. At a London conference earlier this month Geale said the government will publish the Payments Forward Plan in the “next couple of months” which is expected to provide a roadmap of initiatives for the NPV.
Watchdog staff ‘doing same thing’ despite deregulation push
When questioned on whether there had been any “practical difference” since the announcement the PSR would be consolidated into the Financial Conduct Authority, Geale said “[staff] were largely doing the same thing”.
“I would anticipate as we consolidate further into the FCA there will be some efficiencies,” Geale told lawmakers.
The PSR chief said there had been some efficiencies achieved already through not replacing senior colleagues who had departed the regulator. He added the Budget the PSR had for the year was £28m, which it expects to come “reasonably under”.
At the City and Financial Global’s Payments Regulation and Innovation Summit on Monday, chair Natalie Lewis, who serve as head of payments at Travers Smith, applauded recent regulatory progress but said the industry was still “waiting for the coin to drop”.
“We still seem to be waiting for something to happen,” Lewis added.
The Payments Association – which serves as the industry body for the payment sector – last year said current progress constitutes more of a “reshuffle than a reform”.