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The decision rejecting Visa, Mastercard and Revolut’s challenge clears the way for the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to cap interchange fees on outbound card-not-present (CNP) transactions involving UK merchants and European Economic Area (EEA) issuers.

The Treasury Select Committee’s report highlights gaps in accountability, stress testing and third-party controls, signalling that financial institutions should prepare for clearer rules and increased supervisory expectations.

The EU Data Act (Regulation (EU) 2023/2854), which entered into force on January 11, 2024 and has now entered its application stage, represents one of the most consequential regulatory interventions in Europe’s digital markets. Although framed as a horizontal piece of legislation that establishes a set of rules on data access and use that respects the protection of fundamental rights and delivers wide-ranging benefits for the European economy and society, its implications for the financial sector, particularly payments, banking and fintech, are considerable.

The operational resilience Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is intended to reduce the risk of fragmented or conflicting supervisory responses during crises, but does not affect payments firms’ responsibility for their own third-party risk management.

Directive (EU) 2022/2555 (Network and Information Security Directive 2 – NIS2) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on December 27, 2022. It lays down measures aiming to achieve a high common level of cybersecurity across the union. This mapping EU Legislation: NIS2 page lays out the key dates, transposition dates of member states, as well as any RTS, ITS, delegated regulation, implementing regulation or guideline issued and published. It will be updated in line with any NIS2 update.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) new multilateral reporting framework aims to address tax evasion and tax avoidance in the crypto-asset sector through information sharing and standardisation.

UK open banking has delivered a functioning ecosystem, but its growth remains incremental, leaving regulators and firms focused on open finance and the next phase of payments reform.

2025 was a significant year for anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) enforcement worldwide, with regulators imposing hefty penalties for non-compliance.

Mandatory enhanced due diligence (EDD) is set to apply to any Russian connection under EU anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) law, signalling a structural shift in regulatory expectations.

2026 will be a decisive year for the UK crypto-asset sector, as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) looks to finalise a comprehensive regulatory regime that will go live in October 2027, subject to parliamentary approval and final rule-making timelines.