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UK banks to meet over possible Visa, MasterCard rival
British bank executives were set to hold a first meeting on Thursday over a possible national alternative to dominant US payment systems Mastercard and Visa as President Donald Trump’s policies causes economic sovereignty concerns.
The London conference is being held after UK Treasury launched plans to modernise infrastructure used for the country’s payment systems amid global efforts to boost economic security.
The initiative is being funded by Britain’s financial sector under the supervision of the Bank of England.
Thursday’s meeting is the first organised under the auspices of “DeliveryCo”, an entity established by industry players to develop the project and which is chaired by Vim Maru, chief executive of Barclays UK.
Visa and Mastercard are expected to be represented at the meeting, according to a participant.
The trade association UK Finance, which provides administrative support to DeliveryCo, declined to comment to AFP regarding the conference, as did Barclays, the Treasury and the Bank of England.
A UK payments system could see British consumers, who purchase goods and services online or in stores, transfer money directly from their account to a seller’s account without having to go via card networks.
In the UK, Visa and Mastercard process more than 95 percent of card payments, according to the Payment Systems Regulator.
An account-to-account offering “could provide a degree of extra resilience in the UK payments landscape, as an additional payment rail on the rare occasion of operational disruption to existing rails”, Bank of England policymaker Sarah Breeden said in a recent speech.
She added it could reduce payment costs for businesses, in turn aiding consumers via reduced prices.
Against a backdrop of transatlantic tensions since Trump’s return to power — including over his tariffs blitz — calls to reduce dependence on the United States are multiplying.
In mainland Europe, the European Central Bank has since 2020 worked on a digital euro project, presented as a way to reduce reliance on international card networks.
Aside from a national payments system, the Bank of England is examining the possible launch of a digital pound, otherwise known as “Britcoin”.
AFP
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