Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the merger of the Payment Services Regulator in the Financial Conduct Authority will require (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation; and what her planned timetable is for completion of that merger.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has carried out important work to support the UK’s world leading payments sector. However, moving forward, the Government wishes to see a more streamlined regulatory environment with minimal overlap between regulators’ responsibilities. That is why the Government has announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The Government will consult on the details of this measure shortly. The consolidation of the PSR into the FCA will require primary legislation, which will be brought forward as soon as parliamentary time allows. The PSR and FCA are already taking steps to realise the benefits of a more streamlined regulatory framework, including creating a new joint PSR/FCA payments executive director; updating the Memorandum of Understanding between the PSR, the FCA, the Bank of England and the PRA; jointly progressing Open Banking; and undertaking joint stakeholder engagement.