Bank of England Gets New Objective for Payment System Innovation

The UK government is planning to give the Bank of England a new secondary objective focused on supporting innovation in payment systems and emerging digital money forms. This move aims to balance technological advancement with financial stability.

The proposed objective would require the Bank to report annually on its progress against the objective, which aligns with the government's wider programme to modernise the UK payments landscape and support new technologies and business models.

The change will extend a similar approach to the Bank's regulation of systemic payment systems, including those using digital settlement assets such as stablecoins. The reform is expected to be implemented through amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill in September.