Chair of UK’s Payment Systems Regulator Calls Abolition ‘Pragmatic Next Step’

The head of the United Kingdom’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) reportedly said Wednesday (March 12) that he had been aware since January that the regulator could be abolished, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday (March 11) that it will be.

PSR Interim Managing Director David Geale told a panel of lawmakers Wednesday that the PSR was a “reasonably easy target” for the government’s efforts to cut red tape because it has ties with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that include using many of the same systems, operating from the same building and having staff on the same payroll, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The chair of the PSR, Aidene Walsh, told the same panel of lawmakers: “We see it as a pragmatic next step to decongest some of that regulatory congestion that we have today.”

Starmer announced plans Tuesday to abolish the PSR as part of a broader effort by the government to streamline regulation while it focuses on small businesses as well as the larger business climate.

The PSR, which is responsible for overseeing payment systems such as the Faster Payments network and Mastercard’s network, will be consolidated into the FCA.

“For too long, the previous Government hid behind regulators — deferring decisions and allowing regulations to bloat and block meaningful growth in this country,” Starmer said in a statement. “And it has been working people who pay the price of this stagnation.”

A Tuesday statement from the PSR supported Starmer’s move and said the regulator will work with the government, the FCA and the Bank of England to ensure a smooth transfer of regulatory responsibilities.

“Legislation will take time, but we do not need to wait to realize the benefits of an even more streamlined regulatory approach,” the PSR’s statement said. “Doing so builds on recent work bringing the PSR and FCA closer together.”

It was reported March 7 that Revolut and Visa filed legal challenges against the PSR, seeking to overturn the regulator’s proposed cap on interchange fees on cross-border online payments.

The two companies argue that the PSR overstepped its powers with the plan it proposed in 2023.