UK financial services bill to merge PSR into FCA

The UK government will use its forthcoming financial services bill to fold the Payment Systems Regulator into the Financial Conduct Authority, the most significant restructuring of UK payments oversight in a decade.

The bill, expected to feature in the King’s Speech, will consolidate payments regulation under the FCA and reform the Financial Ombudsman Service, according to reporting by the Financial Times. The move follows sustained industry criticism of jurisdictional overlap between the PSR and FCA, particularly around fraud liability, APP scam reimbursement and open banking supervision. The government has framed it as part of a broader effort to cut regulatory red tape for financial services.

For payments firms, the practical question is how the FCA will absorb the PSR’s remit without losing specialist focus. The PSR has driven consequential interventions in interchange, access to payment systems and fraud reimbursement. How those workstreams are prioritised within a larger regulator — and whether the FCA gains new statutory powers over open banking as part of the same legislation — will matter more than the organisational chart.

The timing also coincides with the departure of senior PSR staff. Charity Times reported that the PSR’s chief operating officer is moving to a foundation role, a sign that the merger’s gravitational pull is already affecting the regulator’s bench.

Editorial note: The PSR-FCA merger is the most consequential UK payments regulatory development of the year, with direct implications for how open banking, fraud policy and payment system access are governed.

Sources: UK financial services bill targets PSR and FCA reform — The Paypers | PRESS: UK government to set out major reforms to City regulation - FT — Morningstar/FT | The UK’s $195B money laundering problem just became a CFO problem — The CFO

ETPPA launches German chapter to push pay-by-bank adoption

Token.io and co-leads have established a German chapter of the European Third Party Providers Association, marking a structured industry effort to build account-to-account payment acceptance in Europe’s largest economy.

The new chapter, co-led by Token.io’s Gideon Fourie, aims to promote pay-by-bank and open finance across the German market. Germany has been a persistent laggard in open banking adoption relative to the UK, the Nordics and the Netherlands, despite its market size. Strong incumbency of cash and girocard, combined with cautious bank engagement, has limited third-party provider traction.

The ETPPA chapter matters because Germany is a necessary market for any pan-European account-to-account payments proposition. Without meaningful German merchant acceptance, pay-by-bank remains a collection of national success stories rather than a continental payment method. The chapter structure suggests the industry recognises that German adoption requires dedicated advocacy and local coordination, not just regulatory mandate.

Editorial note: Germany’s account-to-account payments gap is one of the largest unresolved questions in European open banking. A dedicated trade body chapter is a practical signal of where the industry sees the next battleground.

Sources: Token.io co-leads new ETPPA chapter to champion Pay by Bank and Open Banking in Germany — Open Banking Expo