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The UK payments regulator has confirmed that it will be recruiting for a managing director, who will also be responsible for oversight of payments and digital assets at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The new senior regulator will also hold the position of executive director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, in what will be a permanent role.
In a statement shared with Vixio, a spokesperson for the regulator said that “this will help foster greater alignment and strengthen relationships between the PSR and the FCA”.
The regulator believes that joining up the two roles will help it to deliver HM Treasury’s new National Payments Vision “for an innovative, safe and competitive payments sector”, according to the spokesperson.
Despite this shift, the PSR has insisted that it “will remain an independent economic regulator, operating under specific statutory objectives and will continue to retain its own Board and rule-making powers”.
“We will shortly begin recruitment for a permanent appointment to the role. As usual, this will also involve HM Treasury,” the spokesperson said.
In the interim, David Geale, who has been in the position of managing director since June, will continue in the role until the permanent recruitment has been completed.
Geale was appointed following the departure of Chris Hemsley, who left to join a private sector consultancy position at Fingleton.
Hemsley had left at a difficult time for the PSR, when it was facing backlash over its authorised push payment (APP) fraud reimbursement rules, which were introduced in October this year, although sources close to the regulator have suggested that it was always the plan for him to exit.
Plenty of pros, plenty of cons?
The recruiting decision has already been welcomed by some in the payments industry, with one source greeting it as “good sense”.
It comes at a time of renewed regulatory momentum in the UK thanks to the National Payments Vision and payments players being largely pleased with the decision to shift open banking work to the FCA.
The dual role enables a unified vision for implementing HM Treasury's National Payments Vision and reduces the likelihood of siloes or different ways of approaching the implementation.
Across the channel, it has often been siloed work at the European Commission that has dented its approach to regulation, such as the digital identity framework and its approach to the payment services package and open finance framework.
A merger in UK regulatory leadership meanwhile could also streamline decision-making and communication between the organisations, allowing for faster responses to market developments and regulatory challenges. The joint role could also boost industry confidence by demonstrating that the regulators are working together effectively to address the evolving landscape of both payments and digital assets.
However, it does not come without potential flaws.
While the PSR retains its statutory independence, critics perceive the joint role as a dilution of its autonomy, raising concerns about its ability to act as an independent economic regulator.
Considering recent criticism from both government and the payments ecosystem, the PSR will be keen to show its worth in the coming year.
