Our Chief Policy and Engagement Officer, Justin Jacobs, recently joined a panel at the Westminster Business Forum to explore how the National Payments Vision can be turned into real‑world change, focusing on infrastructure, regulation, resilience and innovation. Speaking from Pay.UK’s position at the heart of the UK’s retail payments infrastructure, Justin shared reflections on how the National Payments Vision can be taken forward in practice, working collaboratively to keep payments safe, reliable and trusted for everyone.
Justin was joined by John Howells and Maria Booker (Fair by Design), whose perspectives helped shape a rounded discussion grounded in the practical realities of inclusion, cash and delivery at pace.
From vision to delivery
Justin welcomed the ambition and broad consensus behind the National Payments Vision, noting that its success will depend on continued collaboration and thoughtful prioritisation. With multiple potential outcomes, from expanding account‑to‑account payments at the point of sale to enabling new forms of digital money, he highlighted the importance of working together to coordinate activity in a way that maintains momentum.
Innovating now, not standing still
The panel shared a common view that innovation should continue alongside longer‑term infrastructure planning. Justin highlighted how existing payment rails, working alongside open banking, are already enabling new account‑to‑account use cases in e‑commerce and retail, supported by recent Pay.UK rule changes to strengthen Certainty of Fate for merchants. John added that pace and interoperability across payment methods, including cash, will be key to avoiding fragmentation and supporting resilience.
Designing payments around people
Focusing on outcomes for end users, Justin emphasised the importance of framing innovation around real‑world benefits rather than technology alone. Maria reinforced this perspective, underlining the need for inclusive design and transparency so that new payment methods work for people with different incomes, needs and levels of digital confidence.
Resilience as the foundation
Resilience remained a central theme throughout the discussion. Justin noted that Pay.UK processes over 12 billion payments a year (that’s on average 120,000 retail payments every five minutes), meaning even short disruptions can have widespread impact for people and business across the UK. This shared responsibility is why we continue to work closely with partners across the ecosystem to prioritise operational resilience, ongoing investment and careful planning for any future migration to new infrastructure.
A regulatory framework that enables progress
Justin also welcomed moves towards a more streamlined regulatory framework, highlighting the value of outcome‑focused, coordinated regulation that supports innovation while enabling industry and regulators to work together effectively.
Justin said: “By working together and staying focused on outcomes, we can continue to evolve payments infrastructure in a way that supports innovation, protects resilience and continues to give people and businesses confidence in the payments they rely on every day.”
