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In addition to the much-discussed objective of payments sovereignty, a domestic alternative could lead to greater operational resilience and a decrease in the complexity of remaining compliant.
The Guardian newspaper reported this week that banking leaders intend to hold a first meeting with the aim of establishing a UK alternative to US-based card networks Visa and Mastercard.
The idea of a national card scheme is prompted by concerns over the fracturing relationship between the US and Europe, and fears that the Trump administration could leverage the dominance of Visa and Mastercard for its own ends.
As covered by Vixio, heightened geopolitical friction is forcing nations to rethink how exposed they are to financial systems beyond their control. As these tensions rise, governments are increasingly concerned about the sovereignty of their payment rails.
The Bank of England is leading the design phase of the project, and DeliveryCo, a private entity, will handle the procurement and build.
The UK’s project is likely to be based on account-to-account (A2A) payments rather than a more traditional card scheme.
The first meeting is to be chaired by Barclays’ UK chief executive Vim Maru in his capacity as chair-designate of DeliveryCo.
The need for payments sovereignty
The move to create a UK-based alternative to Visa and Mastercard is part of an ongoing conversation about payments sovereignty.
Many commentators have noted that Europe’s heavy dependence on US card schemes and payment networks undermines the sovereignty and resilience of the continent’s financial system.
A 2025 report by the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) found that around 95% of UK card transactions are made using payment systems owned by Mastercard and Visa, and data from the European Central Bank (ECB) shows that roughly two-thirds of all card payments across the eurozone were processed by the two US networks in 2022.
The high level of concentration in the UK has prompted the PSR to consult on potential remedies to limit card scheme fee increases, which it believes lack effective competitive constraints.
For those most troubled by the absence of payments sovereignty, US control of key infrastructure means not only a lack of competition driving up prices for local consumers, but also concerns around the control of and access to data – creating the risk that an unfriendly administration may switch off the payment rails.
This would naturally be a significant concern for UK authorities and businesses alike, which has likely prompted the plans for a UK alternative.
The UK government and regulators have been relatively cautious in their public statements, noting operational resilience as a key reason for a backup, rather than concerns over the relationship with the US.
In contrast, the EU has declared the importance of payments sovereignty, citing it as a key driver of the digital euro project and other alternative payment options such as Wero.
In late 2025, for example, the Council of the European Union explicitly linked the development of a digital euro to strengthening the resilience and strategic autonomy of the EU’s payment infrastructure, framing it as a way to safeguard essential payment services from external geopolitical pressures.
At the national level, Sweden's Riksbank noted in its Payments Report 2025 that the country needs to focus on the resilience of its payments system, given the growing geopolitical uncertainty and risk.
In that case, the central bank emphasised the need for security in the context of the perception, especially in the Baltic and Nordic regions, that the threat from Russia is growing.
Similarly, in June 2025, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (Papss) and Mercury Payment Services together launched Papsscard, the first Pan-African card scheme.
It is intended to boost the continent’s financial autonomy and enable fast, secure and affordable cross-border retail payments between African markets, and mirrors the UK’s desire for independence.
Greater resilience, simpler compliance
For payments firms operating in the UK, the development of a domestic alternative to Visa and Mastercard would be significant.
However, there is a long road to travel, given the lack of detail on the format of the project and the degree to which the existing card networks are ingrained in the ecosystem.
Despite the discussion of payments sovereignty in political circles, from a consumer perspective the priority remains a smoothly functioning system – being able to make transactions easily and quickly.
One benefit of a new payment scheme might be operational resilience. Even if the new network does not take over from the US-based schemes, it at least would offer an alternative in the event of outages.
This would be valuable, given the growing importance being placed on resilience by both businesses and regulators.
For compliance professionals, operational resilience is evolving into a dynamic, strategic imperative that must embrace a multi-money ecosystem, and any additional payment rail could help.
A fully domestic rail would also simplify compliance with the Bank of England’s SS1/21 requirements, as firms would no longer be solely reliant on the relatively opaque resilience reporting of overseas schemes.
Although the UK already has Faster Payments, Bacs and LINK, which process significant volumes within the country, they are run by Vocalink, a subsidiary of Mastercard.
A wholly UK-based payment system would likely have a regulatory framework designed for the local market, which could make compliance simpler – including around issues such as data residency.
If the UK-based network did become a viable option, it might also create downward competitive pressure on fees, which have been a concern for UK authorities.
In January 2026, the High Court rejected a challenge by Visa, Mastercard and Revolut to the PSR’s right to cap interchange fees on outbound card-not-present (CNP) transactions involving UK merchants and European Economic Area (EEA) issuers.
This established the regulator’s authority to impose default interchange fee caps.
The PSR’s focus in the area reflects the commercial imperative for an additional domestic payment rail – to drive down costs for merchants and consumers.
For now, being involved in the discussion around building an alternative to the existing schemes will allow payments firms to shape developments and influence how it will affect the payments landscape.
As DeliveryCo begins its work, the defining challenge for the UK will be whether it can replicate the reach and functionality of the international schemes while maintaining the lower-cost, sovereign benefits of a fully domestic A2A rail.
