(2 June 2026 – United Kingdom) The newly launched UK Payments Initiative (UKPI), backed by many of the UK’s largest banks and payment providers, is aiming to accelerate the adoption of account-to-account (A2A) payments and reduce reliance on traditional card networks.
Supported by institutions including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Bank and NatWest, the FCA-regulated scheme has been established by a coalition of 31 banks, fintechs and payment providers. Other participants include Nationwide Building Society, Monzo, Revolut, Starling Bank, Santander UK, GoCardless and Wise.
The initiative comes amid growing focus on Europe’s dependence on US payments infrastructure, with US card networks continuing to process the vast majority of UK card transactions.
UKPI seeks to address longstanding barriers to broader A2A adoption through a common rulebook, commercial framework and operational standards for recurring and automated payments powered by open banking.
“This marks a defining moment for the next evolution of payments in the United Kingdom. This is about creating a payment model that works better for everyone, giving people more control and reducing friction for businesses. Our commercial approach will allow us to develop from these first customer journeys to subscription models and wider ecommerce,” says Richard Koch, managing director, UK Payments Initiative.