UK banks kick off fundraising in bid to create new payments giant

Britain’s biggest banks will this week embark on a process to raise tens of millions of pounds to fund the development of a new payments infrastructure vehicle that could ultimately evolve into a domestic alternative to Mastercard and Visa.

Sky News has learnt that the UK Payments Delivery Company (PDC), a newly formed entity, will on Tuesday launch an equity-raise aimed at creating the country's future payments utility.

City sources said the fundraising would initially seek to secure in the region of £50m from industry participants such as banks along with other lenders and payment services providers.

The money will see the PDC financed until 2028 and its incorporation and mobilisation stages, according to people close to the process.

A search for a chief executive for the new company is already underway, they added.

The establishment of the PDC and its fundraising represent a significant milestone in Britain's efforts to overhaul payments infrastructure which is viewed as archaic and requiring an overhaul to make it fit for a 21st century advanced economy.

Reports earlier this year suggested that banks were also keen to gain some semblance of national sovereignty over payment systems used in Britain, amid threats at the time made by President Donald Trump against a number of NATO allies.

While those reports portrayed the new delivery company as an attempt to usurp Mastercard and Visa, both of the American payment giants have been involved in the early work to create the PDC.

In total, 19 companies - including Britain's four biggest high street lenders - have provided initial funding and sponsorship to the new entity.

Citi, JPMorganChase, Nationwide, PayPal and Wise have also formed part of the initial working group.

The genesis of the project emerged in late 2024, when the Treasury published its National Payments Vision.

Some aspects of the PDC's future role are still being developed through an industry-led programme of work, with further funding expected to be needed to build the associated infrastructure.

Vim Maru, a senior Barclays executive, has been leading the delivery company's work and liaising with the Bank of England to formalise its relationship with a body called the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, which is chaired by the central bank.

A blueprint for future payments infrastructure designed by the RPIB is expected to be handed over in the first quarter of next year.

According to one insider, the risks attached to regulatory "congestion" and overlap have been a significant obstacle to innovation in the industry.

"Britain is already losing its leadership role in this area," said the insider.

"This is partly about preventing that erosion gathering pace and building a more resilient system."

Last year, the government announced that the watchdog responsible for payments would be scrapped and folded into the Financial Conduct Authority.

A spokesman for the UK Payments Delivery Company spokesman said: "The government's National Payments Vision has set an ambitious direction for the future of payments, and the UK Payments Delivery Company will play a key role in turning that ambition into reality.

"The work will shape the next generation of payments infrastructure and deliver a system that is resilient, innovative and ready for the future."

(c) Sky News 2026: UK banks kick off fundraising in bid to create new payments giant