Article by Jim Conning, Banking & Alliances Director
Pay.UK’s response to the National Payments Vision has caught my attention, and frankly, it’s about time. Their admission that “the current framework has not enabled the swift and efficient building of new infrastructure” and that “the UK is falling behind other countries” isn’t news to anyone working in payments, but it’s refreshing to see them acknowledge it publicly!
My take, it’s a positive development, but the devil’s in the execution
Any change that genuinely increases inclusivity and brings all players into payment processes deserves support. The proof, as always, will be in the execution. Different players and contributors need meaningful involvement across different payment rails – not just token consultation.
What intrigues me most is their proposed ‘Change-Co’ subsidiary with industry-led governance and binding decision-making authority.
This could represent a genuine shift from the top-down, “we know best” mentality that has held back UK payments infrastructure for years. But I’m watching carefully to see if this translates into real industry influence or just becomes another layer of bureaucracy with a different coat of paint.
The fact that they’re explicitly moving away from their previous prescriptive approach and embracing co-creation gives me some optimism.
What this means for Payment Automation
If co-creation genuinely means delivering improved automation that addresses real user needs, whether for consumers or organisations – using both existing and innovative capabilities from all parties including regulators, payment service providers, and banks, then this is absolutely a step in the right direction.
The key word here is “genuinely.” We’ve seen plenty of initiatives that talk about collaboration but end up being exercises in box-ticking. Real co-creation means giving industry players meaningful input into infrastructure design, not just asking for feedback on predetermined solutions!
For our customers, this could mean faster deployment of new payment capabilities, better integration options, and infrastructure that actually responds to market needs rather than regulatory preferences. The emphasis on preserving existing investments while enabling innovation is particularly important – nobody wants another rip-and-replace scenario that sets the industry back years.
AccessPay’s perspective
At AccessPay, we’ve built our platform around enabling connection and automation in a time, resource, and cost-effective way. This approach helps speed up adoption by removing blockers and enabling accelerated time to benefit.
Pay.UK’s reform proposal aligns well with our philosophy. Rather than trying to replace existing infrastructure wholesale, they’re talking about building on what works while creating pathways for innovation. That’s exactly how we approach client challenges – work with what you have, optimise where you can, and integrate new capabilities without throwing away valuable existing investments.
The proposed industry secondments and direct stakeholder collaboration model particularly resonates. We’ve seen repeatedly that the best solutions come from people who understand both the technical capabilities and the real business challenges. Having industry practitioners directly involved in infrastructure development decisions could finally bridge the gap between what regulators think the market needs and what actually works in practice.
I’m cautiously optimistic, but I’ll be watching the execution closely. The payments sector needs enablers who can cut through complexity and deliver real value to end users. If Pay.UK’s reforms achieve that, everyone wins. If they just create more layers of process, we’ll be having this same conversation again in five years.
The UK has the opportunity to reclaim its position as a payments leader. Let’s see if this time we can move beyond governance theatre to genuine transformation.
What’s your view on Pay.UK’s reform proposal? Are you seeing signs of real change in how payment infrastructure decisions are being made? I’d be interested in your perspective.
