PSR report identifies solutions to enable more people to use digital payments

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has welcomed the PSR Panel’s newly published Digital Payments Initiative report.

The report, commissioned by the PSR, highlights the challenges to the take-up of digital payments and what the potential solutions and regulatory actions could look like. The Initiative concluded there are four high-level areas of focus to address to enable greater take-up of digital payments:

• Improving awareness, understanding and trust in digital payment options
• Tackling barriers to new digital payment services and service features, including enabling new functionalities and improving trust by addressing fraud risks;
  reducing digital exclusion
• Putting better data in place to monitor the transition to digital payments.

The report includes a set of technical recommendations to tackle barriers to new digital payment services that could enable more people – particularly the cash-reliant – to use digital payments. There is a focus on unlocking the potential of open banking payment services, for example to provide people with greater visibility and control over their variable recurring retail payments.

Chris Hemsley, Managing Director of the PSR said “Against the backdrop of falling cash use, the PSR Panel’s report highlights an important role for us in the transition to digital payments.”

“Making sure digital payments work for all, particularly those currently reliant on cash, is a key priority for us. Open banking represents a significant opportunity to allow people to make account-to-account payments with ease and in ways that work for them – something we have focused on in both our strategy and annual plan.”

Dr Ruth Wandhöfer, Chair of the PSR Panel said “The Initiative brought together a broad range of expertise and considered emerging developments across the payments sector. This report is a first step to understanding the barriers and solutions to increased take-up of digital payments. It provides both strategic and more tangible recommendations for how the PSR, together with the broader ecosystem, could help to ensure that everyone has access to digital payment services that meet their needs.”

The PSR says that it will engage with industry and relevant authorities on the barriers and solutions that the panel have identified to enable greater and easier use of digital payments, with a workshop planned in June, and will set out its response to the Panel’s recommendations later in the summer.