(21 April 2026 – United Kingdom) The UK Government is moving ahead with a broad overhaul of payments regulation, aiming to accommodate emerging models such as stablecoins, tokenised deposits and AI-driven transactions.
The proposed reforms seek to align payment services and e-money rules with the UK’s wider financial regulatory framework, creating a single regime covering both traditional and digital payment forms. This includes plans to streamline how stablecoin activities are treated, reducing regulatory overlap as the market evolves.
As part of the transition, the Government is looking to avoid requiring stablecoin payment firms to obtain full cryptoasset dealing permissions ahead of October 2027, while the broader framework is still being finalised.
Beyond stablecoins, policymakers are also assessing how regulation should adapt to payments initiated by AI agents, reflecting the growing role of automation in commerce.
In parallel, the Government has appointed Chris Woolard as digital markets champion to support the development of tokenised wholesale financial markets. Additional backing includes £1 million in funding for the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology to continue advancing sector-wide innovation initiatives.
Woolard said: “We will soon consult on how to reform the regulation of payment services and electronic money, ensuring the framework is ready to support tokenised payments such as stablecoins, unlock the full potential of Open Banking, and explore how to enable the safe adoption of AI agents to conduct payments on behalf of consumers and businesses.”