Source · Select Committees · Treasury Committee
Recommendation 114
114
Deferred
Businesses face unclear payment costs due to lack of competition in processing market
Conclusion
We are disappointed that there is not more clarity on the costs of different payment types, and that businesses are continuing to bear the costs of a lack of competition in the payments processing market. (Conclusion)
Government Response Summary
The government's response focuses on the operational resilience of the UK's financial system, detailing how it works with regulators and industry to improve resilience against threats and ensure financial institutions are secure, rather than addressing the committee's disappointment regarding payment costs and competition.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Operational resilience is a vital part of protecting the UK’s financial system. That is why we work in close cooperation with the financial regulators, National Cyber Security Centre, industry and our international partners to improve our resilience against threats of all origins, reduce vulnerabilities and ensure the financial services sector is as secure and resilient as possible. To ensure financial institutions are resilient to operational risks, the sector’s regulators (Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority) have issued supervisory statements requiring them to identify important business services, set impact tolerances for disruption and put in place safeguards to ensure those systems remain within tolerance in the event of severe but plausible scenarios. The Bank of England also regulates and supervises systemically important payment systems for financial stability purposes. This includes providers, that operate the UK’s main ATM and retail payment networks. The Bank of England works with the entities it regulates to promote collective resilience planning and preparedness in considering a range of substitutability options for payment services.