The Payments Association has published the Payments Manifesto 2026, mentioning policy recommendations such as a call for social media companies to take on more responsibility in reducing fraud.
The paper, Making Britain a Payments Powerhouse, describes 77 policies recommended by 150 payments experts working across regulation, financial crime, digital currencies, financial inclusion, ESG, Open Banking, merchant payments, and cross-border payments. The document stresses the importance of stablecoins and digital currencies, supporting the government’s mission to create a safe regime for digital assets.
It also analyses current frameworks that the association believes slow down progress, urging the Bank of England to remove holding limits on systemic stablecoins, improve the backing assets ratio and eliminate the wholesale ban. This can potentially allow the country to grow in the digital economy and remain competitive globally.
Improving the UK's presence in the global scene
Other key themes that the Payments Association will support are advancing financial inclusion by collaborating with the government to ensure that policies help with development and product promotion, and removing financial crime while accelerating the UK’s adoption of Open Banking, Open Finance, and Open Data. This aims to unlock innovation, strengthen inclusion, and allow customers to access higher-quality solutions.
The manifesto also emphasises supporting UK merchants, especially SMEs that face regulatory difficulties. This aims to ensure that businesses have a voice in decision-making, enabling them to innovate, adapt to modern payment methods, and manage risk better so they can scale more efficiently.
The Payments Association’s manifesto begs for clarity, collaboration, and trust, having the UK’s growth and resilience at its core. The community believes in the opportunity to create a payments infrastructure and regulations that drive growth in the country, support fair access, and ensure that the UK keeps pace with the EU, the US, and Asia.
Government representatives mentioned that the country has two key priorities at the moment, including unlocking the potential of digital payments to boost inclusion, and having big techs and telcos support its industry in fighting fraud. Additionally, the government remains committed to open dialogue regarding how big techs can and have to collaborate with it in order to reduce fraud. It also calls for the National Fraud Strategy to mandate its share of responsibilities.
When it comes to financial inclusion, the UK aims to leverage digital money and prepare a regime for stablecoins. At the critical intersection of technical innovation, this initiative and policies are a call to action, helping the UK strengthen its presence in the global payments sector.
