HM Treasury announced on April 21 that it will publish a consultation on unifying payment services regulation into a single framework. The framework would bring traditional payments, stablecoins used for payment purposes, and tokenised deposits under one regulatory structure. City Minister Lucy Rigby announced the package during London Fintech Week.
The Financial Conduct Authority will receive expanded powers over Open Banking development and commercial payment schemes. The Payment Systems Regulator will be formally integrated into the FCA as previously announced in March 2025. The consultation will also address regulation of AI agents that conduct payments on behalf of users.
Chris Woolard CBE has been appointed as Wholesale Digital Markets Champion to accelerate tokenised asset adoption in wholesale financial markets. Woolard is an EY partner and former interim FCA chief executive. The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology received an additional £1 million in government funding. The formal consultation document is expected shortly.