The Ministry of Sensible Future Consultation this week opened a consultation on a future-proof framework for payments, stablecoins and open banking, describing the package as the most significant modernisation of payments regulation in a generation. Industry participants have until early October to respond. The framework itself is due later.
"This is a landmark moment for the future of money," said a sentence-release officer from the Department of Optics. "We look forward to reading what everyone thinks the future of money should be, and to publishing a summary of what everyone thought."
A framework for the future, at a future date
The central proposal would move many detailed payments requirements out of legislation and into the rulebook of the Financial Clipboard Authority, giving the regulator the agility to update rules as technology evolves. The Clipboard Authority welcomed the additional responsibility and confirmed it would consult on how to use it.
We accept anonymous submissions from inside the industry. Steering committee post-mortems, vendor demo recaps, and lightly fictionalised consulting anecdotes are particularly welcome. Monthly featured contributors receive recognition and a modest prize.
Contributor guidelines ›The consultation document runs to 168 pages. The phrase "future-proof" appears 41 times. The future is not otherwise defined.
The framework would also formally recognise certain stablecoins as sufficiently "money-like" to be used within regulated payment chains, provided they are issued under a regime the Ministry recognises, by an issuer the Clipboard Authority supervises, against reserves held to standards that are still being drafted.
"Money-likeness is a spectrum," said a senior compliance professional. "Some instruments are more money-like than others. Money, for example."
A statutory right to be paid eventually
On open banking, the consultation proposes a new statutory right of access to support variable recurring payments, which the document describes as an important building block for account-to-account payment solutions. Account-to-account payment solutions have been one building block away since 2019.
The Ministry also sees significant potential in AI agents that can analyse options, make purchasing decisions and execute payments autonomously on behalf of consumers. The consultation confirms these agents will be subject to the same rules as everyone else, once it has been decided what the rules are.
"The direction of travel is clear," said an industry observer. "We are travelling towards a second consultation."
Deciding the rules requires the framework. The framework requires the consultation. The consultation requires responses, which will be considered, summarised, and reflected in a response to the responses. A further consultation has not been ruled out, and is therefore expected.
Next steps
Firms welcomed the clarity. Several confirmed they have stood up internal working groups to draft their submissions, with steering committee oversight and external advisory support. One large institution said its response was already in second draft, pending alignment.
"We are strongly supportive of a future-proof framework," said an unnamed executive. "We have budgeted for it to arrive in a future financial year."
The Ministry confirmed the framework is expected to be fully future-proof by the time the future arrives. A date for the future has not been confirmed.