Payments in 2026 #2 – Modernising payments regulation

This year the UK will start a multi-year project to upgrade how payment services and e-money are regulated.

Innovation in the multi-moneyverse

HM Treasury will shortly release a Payments Forward Plan. This will set out the sequence of initiatives to deliver the National Payments Vision. The Plan should help legal and compliance teams assess strategic priorities and allocate resources.

One of the key initiatives will be a project to rewrite payments legislation. This is part of wider work to replace EU-derived legislation with rules set by the UK regulators. It will also try to future-proof payment services regulation so that it can respond to market change, including the rise of new forms of money like stablecoins and other tokenised payment instruments.

HM Treasury recently laid legislation to regulate stablecoins and other cryptoassets. Although the law does not seek to cover stablecoin payment activities, payments firms must still check whether they need to apply for a new licence for any crypto-related activities.

Date for the diary: 25 October 2027 – UK cryptoasset regulatory regime takes effect.

This is the second in a series of blogposts looking at the outlook for payments regulation in the UK and EU. Read our Payments Outlook 2026 for more.