Key facts
- UK banks are raising tens of millions of pounds to fund a new payments infrastructure company.
- The new company, UK Payments Delivery Company (PDC), aims to rival Mastercard and Visa domestically.
- Barclays UK chief executive Vim Maru is the chair-designate of PDC.
- Visa and Mastercard are participating in the initiative and taking stakes.
- The Payment Systems Regulator reported that about 95% of UK card transactions use Visa or Mastercard systems.
- The Bank of England is developing infrastructure blueprints for the new system.
Britain's largest banks are beginning a process to raise tens of millions of pounds to fund a new payments infrastructure company that could eventually rival Mastercard and Visa domestically. The initiative, codenamed DeliveryCo, is driven by concerns over potential disruptions to US-owned payment systems, particularly in light of geopolitical tensions.
According to Sky News, the newly formed UK Payments Delivery Company (PDC) will launch an equity-raise targeting around £50 million from banks, other lenders, and payment services providers. This funding will finance the PDC through its incorporation and mobilization phases until 2028. A search for a chief executive is already underway.
The Payment Systems Regulator has reported that approximately 95% of UK card transactions utilize Visa or Mastercard systems. The Bank of England is involved in developing infrastructure blueprints for the new system, which is intended to serve as a resilience layer for the country's payment infrastructure.