UK Banking Sector Advances Plans for Domestic Payments Network to Challenge Visa and Mastercard Dominance

Senior executives from Britain’s leading banks are scheduled to convene this week for the inaugural meeting regarding the establishment of a national payments infrastructure designed to serve as an alternative to the current US-owned systems operated by Visa and Mastercard. The initiative has gained renewed urgency amid heightened concerns over geopolitical risks associated with reliance on American payment networks.

Vim Maru, chief executive of Barclays’ UK operations, will chair the meeting scheduled for Thursday. The gathering will bring together representatives from major financial institutions that are expected to provide the initial funding required to establish the new payments entity, which has been designated as DeliveryCo. The project represents a collaboration between the private sector and government authorities, having been under consideration for several years prior to recent geopolitical developments that have accelerated its timeline.

The strategic imperative for such an infrastructure has been underscored by recent political tensions involving the United States and its NATO allies. Approximately 95 per cent of card transactions in the United Kingdom are currently processed through systems owned by Mastercard and Visa, according to data published by the Payment Systems Regulator in 2025. This concentration of market power has become increasingly significant as cash usage continues to decline across the country.

Industry sources familiar with the project have emphasised the potentially severe economic consequences of disruption to existing payment networks. The precedent of sanctions imposed on Russia, where Visa and Mastercard were compelled to cease operations despite handling 60 per cent of payment transactions, demonstrates the vulnerability of economies heavily dependent on foreign-controlled payment infrastructure. Russian consumers were left unable to access funds or complete commercial transactions, illustrating the systemic risks associated with such dependency.

European policymakers have adopted a more confrontational approach to the issue of payment system sovereignty. Aurore Lalucq, who chairs the economic and monetary affairs committee of the European Parliament, recently issued a widely circulated statement calling for the creation of a European equivalent to Airbus in the payments sector. Her comments explicitly referenced the ability of US authorities to disable payment systems, characterising other policy concerns as secondary to this fundamental vulnerability.

The British approach differs markedly from the European stance in that both Visa and Mastercard are participating in the initiative as members of the funding consortium. The two American corporations will hold stakes in the new entity alongside major UK financial institutions including Santander UK, NatWest, Nationwide Building Society, Lloyds Banking Group, the ATM network operator Link, and Coventry Building Society. This inclusive structure grants the established payment networks both financial exposure and governance influence over the emerging alternative.

Public officials in the United Kingdom have framed the initiative primarily in terms of operational resilience rather than geopolitical risk mitigation. Sarah Breeden, deputy governor of the Bank of England, recently stated that the new infrastructure could provide enhanced resilience within the UK payments landscape, serving as an additional payment rail during instances of operational disruption affecting existing systems. Her remarks notably avoided explicit reference to geopolitical threats as a motivating factor.

Joe Garner, former chief executive of Nationwide Building Society and adviser to Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the national payments vision, led an independent review of the payments sector in 2023. He has stated that the need to modernise payment infrastructure exists independently of recent political developments, suggesting that the project addresses long-standing structural requirements within the UK financial system.

The funding consortium will assume responsibility for establishing the legal framework, leadership structure, and ongoing financing model for DeliveryCo. The Bank of England will develop the technical infrastructure specifications, which are scheduled to be transferred to the private sector consortium next year. Current projections indicate that the new payments system is likely to become operational by 2030.

Both Visa and Mastercard have issued statements affirming their commitment to the UK market whilst expressing support for competitive dynamics within the payments sector. Visa emphasised its provision of innovative and secure digital payment solutions characterised by high levels of resilience and reliability, noting that competition between multiple solutions supported by regulatory parity would deliver choice, innovation, and economic growth. Mastercard similarly highlighted its long-term investment in the UK market and its commitment to providing consumers and businesses with diverse payment options.

UK Finance, the trade association providing administrative support to the DeliveryCo project, declined to comment on the initiative. The Treasury and the Bank of England similarly declined to provide statements when contacted.