Correspondence with the Managing Director of the Payment Systems
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Rt Hon Andrew Tyrie MP Chair, Treasury Select Committee House of Commons London SW1A 0AA 1 February 2017 Dear Chair, Following John Griffith-Jones and my appearance before the Committee on 18 January, I agreed to write to you on three specific topics. The Committee asked about the membership and remit of the Payments Strategy Forum and how this compares to the membership and remit of the now-disbanded Payments Council. You were also interested in whether any other developed countries have more than one payment system as well as the underlying infrastructure which supports these systems. The Committee also asked for a list of the tools we use when assessing competition. We have provided the Committee with further detail on these three areas. We are happy to provide any additional information should the Committee find it helpful. Yours sincerely Hannah Nixon Managing Director Membership and remit of the Payments Strategy Forum and Payments Council Prior to 2013, the UK payments industry was largely self-regulating, although the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had some limited regulatory roles. Industry decision making, operations, and delivery of innovation in the collaborative space were, in the main, led by the Payments Council, which had no formal powers. Between 2000 and 2013, several reviews of the industry highlighted concerns that: The industry was slow at innovating. Users weren’t significantly involved in the planning for future developments. Smaller and new payment service providers weren’t getting fair and open access due to various barriers, including the influence of big banks. The industry’s decision making processes weren’t always transparent. These concerns, together with the recognition that more competitive and innovative payment systems could promote more retail banking competition, led to the Government and Parliament establishing the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), through the Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act in October 2013. We became fully operational in April 2015, with strong regulatory and competition powers. We are completely independent of industry. Our Managing Director, Chairman and Board members are appointed by a combination of the Government and the FCA. We have three statutory objectives; to promote competition, promote innovation and the interests of service users. One of our key initiatives has been to establish the Payments Strategy Forum (the “Forum”) to harness industry and end-user experience and resources to work together to speed up and improve the quality of innovation where collaboration is needed. The Forum does not step into the competitive space for payment services. The Forum has no formal powers of its own – the PSR tasks the Forum, looking at the pace and direction of its work, and we would step in if its approach and proposals were incompatible with its objectives. The Forum’s primary focus has been on how payment systems are affecting users and the changes needed to meet current and future needs of users. In November 2016, following extensive consultation with both users and providers of payment systems and services, the Forum published its ‘Payments Strategy for the 21st Century’. In 2017 the Forum will work towards implementing the changes it has identified. Membership The Forum has a diverse membership including larger banks, challenger banks, building societies, Fintechs, large users of payments such as Tesco, small business users and consumer representatives. It has an independent Chair appointed by the PSR. The Chair’s role is to ensure that all members of the Forum are involved in its work and to aim to reach consensus on its decisions. In contrast, the voting Board of the former Payments Council consisted of fifteen directors with equal voting rights, eleven of whom were industry-appointed from a cross section of Payments Council membership (predominantly payment service providers (PSPs)). The PSR also established the Payments Community to influence the work programme of the Forum. The Payments Community is made up of over 320 organisations and continues to grow. Participation is open to everyone. The Community currently includes people and organisations with an interest in payment systems and services that have indicated that they would like to contribute to shaping the Forum's work. The Payments Council no longer exists and has been replaced by the industry trade body, Payments UK since June 2015. See Annex 2 for a full list of Forum and Payments Council Board members. Annex 1 – Table outlining purpose and membership of key payments industry bodies Payment Systems Regulator Payments Strategy Forum Payments Council Payments UK Launched on 1 April 2015. Launched in October 2015, and set up by The Payments Council was an Launched in June 2015 (replaced the the PSR. organisation of UK financial institutions, Payments Council). Purpose: which set strategy for UK payment To make payment systems work well for all those that Purpose: systems from 2007 until 2014. Purpose: use them. The Forum leads on a process to identify, Payments UK is the trade association prioritise and help deliver initiatives where Membership: launched in June 2015 to support the The PSR is: it is necessary for the payments industry to The board of the Payments Council rapidly evolving payments industry. It The economic regulator for the payment systems work together to promote collaborative consisted of: brings members and wider industry in the UK. innovation. Independent non-voting chairman stakeholders together to make the Independent, with its own managing director and Fifteen voting directors UK’s payment services better for board Membership: An observer from the Bank of customers and to ensure UK payment Charged with strong competition and regulatory The Forum consists of a chair, independent England services remain world-class. powers from industry and 22 members. Funded by the industry Membership includes user representatives Of the fifteen directors on the Board, Membership: Accountable to Parliament and payment service providers. eleven were industry-appointed directors Payments UK's membership is drawn who represented a cross section of from a wide range of payment service Statutory objectives: Members were appointed jointly by the PSR Payments Council membership, and four providers as well as organisations with To ensure that payment systems are operated and and the Forum chair following a public independent directors. a commercial interest in payments developed in a way that considers and promotes nomination process during the summer of such as consultancies. the interests of all the businesses and consumers 2015. that use them A full list of members and their Board To promote effective competition The Bank of England (BoE), the Prudential can be found at To promote the development of and innovation in Regulatory Authority (PRA), the Financial www.paymentsuk.org.uk payment systems Conduct Authority (FCA) and the PSR are observers on the Forum. PSR powers: The PSR has a range of strong regulatory and The PSR also provides the secretariat to the competition powers. Forum. Annex 2 - List of members of the Forum as at February 2017 and Payment Council Board members as at May 2015. Payments Strategy Forum Members as at February 2017 Sector Chairman – Ruth Evans Consumer representative Alan Smith, Head of Payments and Banking Services, Post Office Small, Challenger bank (payment service provider) Becky Clements, Head of Industry Engagement and Payment Change, Metro Bank Small, Challenger bank (payment service provider) Carl Pheasey, Head of Policy, Money Advice Service Consumer / end user representative Carlos Sanchez, CEO, Orwell Group Authorised Money Institutions (payment service provider) Faith Reynolds, Member, Financial Services Consumer Panel Consumer / end user representative James Emmett, Chief Operating Officer, HSBC Bank Large bank (payment service provider) Hamish MacLeod, Director, Mobile UK Large corporate users Katherine Horrell, Group Treasurer, Centrica Large corporate users Marion King, Group Director of Payments, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Large bank (payment service provider) Mark Lyonette, Chief Executive, ABCUL Small, Challenger bank (payment service provider) Michael Maier, Deputy CEO, Fidor AG Small, Challenger bank (payment service provider) Mike Smith, Commercial Director, Raphaels Bank Small, Challenger bank (payment service provider) Neil Lover, Head of Payments and Financial Crime, Coventry Building Society Small, Challenger bank (payment service provider) Brendan Pielow, Crown Representative (Banking and Payments), Cabinet Office Government as largest user of payment systems Otto Benz, Director: Strategic Payments, Virgin Money Small, Challenger bank (payment service provider) Philip McHugh, Chief Executive, Barclaycard Business Solutions Large bank (payment service provider) Russell Saunders, Managing Director, Global Payments, Lloyds Banking Group Large bank (payment service provider) Ruth Wandhöfer, Global Head for Regulatory and Market Strategy, Citi Bank Large bank (payment service provider) Sian Williams, Head of National Services, Toynbee Hall Consumer / end user representative Tony Shaw, Payments Development Manager, Tesco Plc Retail/ end user representative Thaer Sabri, Chief Executive, Electronic Money Association FinTechs and other smaller payment service providers NB: Adam Marshall, Director General, British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) stepped down in December 2016. Payments Council Board as at May