HM Treasury published a consultation on modernising UK payment services regulation in 2026, with responses due by 6 October 2026. The consultation sits within a broader restructuring of the UK payments regulatory architecture. In March 2025, the government announced its intention to abolish the Payment Systems Regulator and transfer its functions to the Financial Conduct Authority. The February 2026 Payments Forward Plan set out the reform roadmap. No draft statutory instrument has been published alongside this consultation. A Policy Statement is expected in H1 2027.
The consultation rests on the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, both of which the government proposes to replace. The questions cover three areas. First, how to bring payment services using qualifying stablecoins issued under regulation 9M of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 within regulated payments, rationalising the overlap between the cryptoasset and payments regimes. Second, how to accommodate Open Banking payment initiation and smart data interoperability. Third, how to regulate agentic AI systems that execute payments autonomously on behalf of consumers and businesses.
Payment institutions, electronic money institutions, account information service providers, payment initiation service providers, stablecoin issuers authorised under the Cryptoassets Regulations 2026, and technology firms developing AI agents capable of initiating or routing payments must respond by 6 October 2026 to shape the draft legislation. Banks operating under FSMA exemptions from the Payment Services Regulations 2017 are also addressed. The consultation marks the first time HM Treasury has sought views on regulatory treatment of agentic payment systems.
The consultation does not address the Bank of England's work on a potential retail or wholesale central bank digital currency. The February 2026 Payments Forward Plan committed to a Bank-FCA approach to dual regulation of systemic stablecoins in Q2-Q3 2026, which runs as a parallel workstream. The Payment Systems Regulator consolidation, once legislated, will also affect competition enforcement in payment systems, a secondary implication not addressed in this consultation document.
Licentium advises payment service providers, stablecoin issuers, and digital asset firms on UK payments regulatory reform, including consultation response drafting, authorisation strategy, and agentic payment compliance planning. We maintain a partner network with UK regulatory counsel for Payment Systems Regulator transition planning and payments services modernisation work. Work we undertake includes payment institution authorisation, stablecoin compliance structuring, Open Banking regulatory analysis, payment regulatory change management, and agentic payments governance.
Source: HM Treasury, Consultation: Modernising Payment Services Regulation, responses due 6 October 2026