UK Payments Industry Backs National Payments Vision but Confidence Lags, CI&T Research Finds

UK payments leaders overwhelmingly support the government’s National Payments Vision, yet a significant confidence gap remains regarding its execution. With 82% backing the overhaul but only 29% expressing high confidence in the delivery process, the industry is signaling an urgent need for clearer roadmaps and better communication as the UK prepares to modernize its core financial infrastructure.

What was announced

CI&T, an AI and technology acceleration partner, released "From Vision to Delivery, The Choices That Will Define UK Payments Reform," a study surveying 350 payments leaders. The findings arrive as the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, chaired by the Bank of England, concludes its consultation on the design of the UK’s next-generation payments infrastructure on 11 September 2026. While the consultation focuses on the technical architecture, the CI&T research highlights the industry's concerns regarding the practicalities of implementation.

While 95% of executive and strategic leaders support the reform, the research highlights deep-seated operational anxieties. Specifically, 349 out of 350 respondents anticipate communication issues during the programme. The primary concerns cited include the delivery roadmap and milestones (33%), alignment with existing regulations (30%), and the demands of testing, migration, and readiness (30%).

The National Payments Vision, published by HM Treasury in 2024, seeks to rebuild the infrastructure behind daily transactions to foster competition and security. According to the report, 85% of leaders believe modernization must integrate with existing infrastructure, a figure that rises to 98% among senior executives. Preferred methods for this transition vary: 30% favor full replacement of specific components, while others lean toward parallel running, modernised data standards, or targeted integration. Notably, 97% of respondents believe the UK should draw lessons from Brazil’s Pix system, which currently reaches approximately 93% of Brazil's adult population.

"The UK has reached the stage of payments reform where intent has to become delivery. That gap between broad confidence and firm confidence gives us a useful indication of where the industry wants greater clarity: milestones, responsibilities, readiness requirements and the route between today's infrastructure and the system the UK wants to build."

Young Pham, Global Head of Financial Services AI at CI&T.

The companies involved

CI&T is an AI and technology acceleration partner that has previously worked on implementing national-scale payments infrastructure, including Brazil’s Pix and Project Nemo in the UK. The reform effort is a multi-agency initiative led by HM Treasury, the UK’s economic and finance ministry, which has been the subject of 17 previous reports regarding its role in shaping financial policy. The Bank of England, the UK’s central bank, chairs the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board and oversees the stability of the financial system, with 60 previous mentions in our coverage.

These organizations work alongside the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the economic regulator for the UK payments industry, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates the conduct of financial services firms. These bodies are tasked with delivering the National Payments Vision, a strategy designed to replace aging infrastructure with a more resilient and competitive framework. The research itself was conducted in collaboration with Censuswide, a global research consultancy that provides data-driven insights for the financial sector and has been featured in 8 previous reports.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely monitored the regulatory landscape surrounding UK financial services and the agencies involved in this overhaul. This includes reports on the FCA Launches Firm Checker to Fight Financial Crime, which highlighted the regulator's focus on technological solutions to maintain market integrity. We have also tracked the evolving role of the Bank of England and HM Treasury as they navigate the complexities of digital transformation and payments policy. Prior coverage of CI&T and the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board has also established the groundwork for understanding how these organizations influence the technical and strategic direction of the UK’s financial infrastructure, ensuring that the transition to next-generation systems meets both consumer and institutional needs.

What this means

The disconnect between policy support and execution confidence suggests that the UK payments sector is entering a period of significant friction. While the "what" of the National Payments Vision is settled, the "how" remains a point of contention for those tasked with building it. Financial institutions are under pressure to balance the high costs of migration with the need for a more competitive, Pix-like instant payment environment. The fact that almost every respondent expects communication failures indicates that the Bank of England and HM Treasury must move beyond high-level strategy and provide granular, technical milestones. Failure to do so risks a fragmented implementation that could leave the UK trailing behind more agile international markets.