FCA stunt launches new Firm Checker tool as around 700,000 people lose money to investment scams. Morning commuters at London Waterloo got more than their usual caffeine hit today when a mysterious 'ATM' promising to 'give away a fortune' stopped them in their tracks – and revealed an unexpected surprise.As curious passers-by approached the machine, the screen slid open to unveil Emil the Seal, the FCA's finance-friendly mascot, delivering a blunt message about the dangers of investment scams...
BankWealth ManagerFintech
Given at The Tokenisation Summit
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
We’re working closely with the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), UK law enforcement, and our regulatory partners to tackle the abuse of cryptoassets and associated money‑laundering activities. Read the full blog on the OFSI’s website.
Crypto ExchangeFintechPayment Provider The FCA has launched a review into the implications of advanced AI on consumers, retail financial markets and regulators. The Review will be led by Sheldon Mills and builds on the FCA’s existing work on AI. This includes its AI Discussion Paper, AI Sprint, and AI Lab including AI Live Testing and its groundbreaking Supercharged Sandbox supported by NVIDIA.AI is already embedded across financial services. Rapid advances in generative, agentic and emerging forms of AI mean the next phase of cha...
BankWealth ManagerFintech
Given at the Resolution Foundation
BankAsset ManagerBroker Dealer
Speech by Sheree Howard at the FCA's Gateway to growth, Chicago Booth London Conference Centre. The first time I flew was in my teenage years, and like many of my generation, that was a flight to Europe for a family holiday. I didn’t make it further afield until I was in my mid to late twenties.Today, most, if not all of us, would think of international travel as the norm – especially given the global nature of our business.It is amazing, therefore, to think that right around this time in 197...
BankFintechWealth Manager
We have issued a joint statement with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) giving clarity on open banking pricing models. We and the PSR have issued the following statement (PDF).This confirms we will not, at this stage, prioritise a Competition Act 1998 (CA98) investigation into the centralised ‘access fee’ pricing model being developed by the UK Payments Initiative (UKPI) for commercial Variable Recurring Payments (cVRPs). cVRPs are an emerging open banking technology that allow consumers to...
The FCA and PSR have jointly confirmed they will not prioritize a Competition Act 1998 investigation into the UK Payments Initiative's (UKPI) centralized access fee pricing model for commercial Variable Recurring Payments (cVRPs), with the CMA's concurrent agreement. This regulatory clarity provides temporary certainty for cVRP development ahead of anticipated legislation by end-2026, creating a critical window for firms to develop compliant commercial models in this emerging open banking technology.
What Changed
The regulatory statement establishes the following key positions:
Non-prioritization of CA98 investigation: The FCA, PSR, and CMA have jointly confirmed they will not prioritize competition law enforcement against UKPI's centralized access fee model for Phase 1/Wave 1 cVRPs (limited to "lower risk" use cases).
Scope limitation: The regulatory clarity applies only to Phase 1/Wave 1 of UKPI's cVRP scheme, specifically addressing lower-risk payment use cases including regulated financial services
What You Need To Do
- *For UKPI and participating firms
- *Governance documentation
- *Pricing methodology transparency
- *Phase 1/Wave 1 compliance
- *Market engagement
Key Dates
15 January 2026 - FCA and PSR wrote to CMA setting out their non-prioritization position
16 January 2026 - CMA confirmed alignment with FCA/PSR position on CA98 prioritization
20 January 2026 - Joint FCA/PSR statement issued on open banking pricing models
Q1 2026 - Expected first live UKPI cVRP payments
End of 2026 - Government anticipated to introduce legislative framework granting FCA new open banking powers
Compliance Impact
Urgency: HIGH
The FCA and PSR have issued a joint statement providing clarity on open banking pricing models, specifically regarding the centralised 'access fee' pricing model for commercial Variable Recurring Payments (cVRPs). This statement confirms that they will not prioritize a Competition Act 1998 investigation into this model at this stage. The goal is to support the development of cVRPs, giving consumers more control over their payments and lowering processing fees for businesses.
What Changed
The FCA and PSR have clarified their enforcement position on the UKPI's proposal for a commercial model for cVRPs, indicating they will not prioritize a Competition Act 1998 investigation at this stage.
What You Need To Do
- Monitor market developments and updates on the legislative framework for open banking
- Review and understand the implications of the centralised 'access fee' pricing model for cVRPs on your business operations
- Ensure compliance with existing competition laws and regulations
Key Dates
31 Dec 2026 Expected implementation of the government's legislative framework for open banking DEADLINE
1 Jul 2027 End of the temporary measure if the legislative framework is not implemented DEADLINE
Non-Compliance Risk
Enforcement action, fines, or other regulatory penalties for non-compliance with competition laws and regulations
Related Regulations
Competition Act 1998Payment Services Directive (PSD2)
Confidence: high
BankFintechPayment Provider We have opened applications for the second cohort of our AI Live Testing service. AI Live Testing is the first of its kind in the financial sector to help firms who are ready to use AI in UK financial markets. Participating firms receive tailored support from our regulatory team and our technical partner Advai to develop, assess and deploy safe and responsible AI.The service helps firms to consider key questions around evaluating AI including governance, risk management and monitoring to help...
BankFintechAsset Manager
The FCA, Bank of England and Prudential Regulation Authority have together signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Supervisory Authorities to enhance cooperation and oversight of critical third parties (CTPs) that fall under the UK’s CTP regime.The MoU establishes a framework for coordinating and sharing information on the oversight of CTPs under the UK regime and critical third party providers (CTPPs) under the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), including du...
The FCA, Bank of England (BoE), and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) to coordinate oversight of critical third parties (CTPs) under the UK's CTP regime and critical third party providers (CTPPs) under the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). This matters because it enhances cross-border information sharing and cooperation during incidents like cyber-attacks, reducing regulatory duplication while bolstering financial stability and operational resilience for firms reliant on these providers.
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What Changed
Establishes a framework for timely information sharing, coordination of oversight activities, and joint responses to incidents affecting CTPs/CTPPs, including power outages or cyber-attacks.
Defines principles for cooperation on mutually designated CTPs/CTPPs, including notifications of investigations and best endeavors to share material information where legally and operationally feasible.
Complements the UK's CTP regime (effective 1 January 2025), which requires designated CTPs to provide regu
What You Need To Do
- For CTPs/CTPPs
- For financial firms/FMIs
- Regulators' internal actions
- Firms should review contracts with third parties for compliance alignment and conduct gap analyses against CTP requirements
Key Dates
1 January 2025 UK CTP rules came into effect, applying to CTPs designated by HMT.
Ongoing (process begun pre-2025) HMT designation process for CTPs, with regulators recommending based on concentration and materiality criteria; no fixed end date specified.
DORA effective date (prior context) EU CTPPs oversight under DORA aligns with UK regime; MoU signed to ensure compatibility (exact DORA timeline not in publication but supports post-2024 implementation).
Compliance Impact
Urgency: High – The MoU operationalizes the live UK CTP regime (effective January 2025), with designations underway, amplifying risks of non-compliance for firms using critical ICT providers amid rising cyber and resilience threats. It matters for cross-border firms as it enables regulator-to-regula
BankPayment ProviderAll Firms
People could find it easier to pay using contactless, thanks to greater flexibility and the removal of red tape by the FCA. Banks and payment providers with strong fraud controls will be able to set their own limit for contactless payments, allowing them to better respond to changing consumer demands, inflation and new technology. They are also being encouraged to let customers set their own limit, or turn contactless off altogether, as many high street banks already do. People are using cont...
BankPayment Provider
The Artificial Intelligence Consortium (AIC) aims to provide a platform for public-private engagement to further dialogue on the capabilities, development, deployment, use, and potential risks of artificial intelligence (AI) in UK financial services.
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Open banking in the UK is growing rapidly. Latest industry figures show there are more than 16 million users now benefiting from the service. The number of open banking payments has soared by 53% year on year, reflecting a significant shift in how consumers and businesses manage their finances.See the API performance statsA key driver of this transformation is the rise of variable recurring payments (VRPs), which now account for 16% of all open banking transactions. VRPs allow consumers and b...
BankFintechPayment Provider
Given at the 20th High-level meeting on financial stability and regulatory and supervisory priorities (jointly organised by the Arab Monetary Fund, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the Financial Stability Institute of the Bank of International Settlements).
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at Womble Bond Dickinson, Newcastle, hosted by the North East Chamber of Commerce
BankWealth ManagerFintech
The PRA held roundtable meetings on artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) in the context of Supervisory Statement (SS)1/23 ‘Model risk management principles for banks’
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) held roundtable sessions on 20 and 22 October 2025 with 21 regulated firms to discuss AI and machine learning (AI/ML) adoption under Supervisory Statement SS1/23 on model risk management (MRM) principles for banks. This matters because it highlights PRA's strategic supervisory focus on AI/ML model risks, urging firms to enhance governance, risk appetite, monitoring, and validation to mitigate opacity, overfitting, and rapid performance degradation in these models. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2025/november/pra-holds-model-risk-management-roundtable-on-ai | https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/prudential-regulation/publication/2025/november/ai-roundtable-oct-2025.pdf
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What Changed
This is not a formal rule change but supervisory guidance via roundtable insights reinforcing SS1/23 principles (effective since 2023). Key emphases include:
Risk appetite: Boards must articulate AI/ML-specific model risk appetite pre-deployment to avoid exceeding tolerances, given higher uncertainty from opacity.
Model inventories and tiering: Address inaccurate/incomplete inventories and aggregate risks from deploying similar AI/ML across portfolios/jurisdictions; challenge tiering for complex
What You Need To Do
- Review and strengthen board-level model risk appetite statements to explicitly cover AI/ML opacity and uncertainty; integrate into governance triggers like re-validation
- Enhance model inventories for completeness, aggregate risk assessment, and cross-jurisdictional tiering challenges
- Update model development policies to evaluate AI/ML trade-offs (e
- Revise ongoing monitoring policies for more frequent, quantitative checks on AI/ML (e
- Participate in PRA initiatives like MRM roundtables or AI Consortium for dialogue; align first/second-line defenses per SS1/23
Key Dates
20-22 October 2025 - PRA held CRO roundtable sessions with 21 firms on AI/ML MRM.
24 November 2025 - PRA published roundtable summary and slides. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2025/november/pra-holds-model-risk-management-roundtable-on-ai
Compliance Impact
Urgency: Medium - Not critical as no new rules or deadlines, but high relevance for AI/ML users amid PRA's strategic MRM focus; non-compliance risks supervisory actions, given observations of gaps in monitoring and governance. Matters for banks scaling AI (rising adoption per industry views), as una
BankAll Firms
Slides by Swati Dhingra
BankWealth ManagerFintech
The Bank of England, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the Bank of Thailand announced a collaboration to explore the technical and policy implications of settling foreign exchange (FX) transactions using synchronised settlement mechanisms.
Meeting of the CBDC Engagement Forum
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
The SONIA Stakeholder Advisory Group supports the Bank’s administration of SONIA by providing advice and technical input to the Bank and the SONIA Oversight Committee
BankAsset ManagerBroker Dealer
Elaborates on points made at the market panel of the ECB Conference on Money Markets 2025
BankAsset ManagerBroker Dealer
Given at Insurance Innovators Summit
Insurance
Meeting of the CBDC Engagement Forum
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
Given at Mansion House
BankWealth ManagerFintech
Given at the Bank of England and Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub’s DLT Innovation Challenge Showcase
BankFintechCrypto Exchange Publication from the Bank, PRA and FCA to firms and financial market infrastructures highlighting observed effective practices of cyber response and recovery capabilities.
BankFintechPayment Provider Based on remarks given on the ‘Real World Assets Tokenisation: What Asset Classes Will Work – and Which Won’t’ panel at DC Fintech Week 2025
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
The Maxwell Fry Lecture of the Money, Macro and Finance Society given at the University of Birmingham
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at AFME OPTIC Conference, Amsterdam
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
Our Financial Policy Committee (FPC) meets to identify risks to financial stability and agree policy actions aimed at safeguarding the resilience of the UK financial system.
BankAsset ManagerBroker Dealer
Meeting of the CBDC Academic Advisory Group
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
Given at the Inaugural Pictet Research Institute Symposium 2025
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at the Cross Market Operational Resilience Group (CMORG) conference
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at the 30th Annual Bank of America Financials CEO Conference
BankAsset ManagerBroker Dealer
Given at the Bank of England and Warwick Business School Innovation in Money and Payments Conference
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
Given at The Future of Central Banking conference on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary, Banco de México
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at OMFIF Economic and Monetary Policy Institute
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at the Andrew Crockett Memorial Lecture
BankWealth ManagerAsset Manager
Given at the ECB Forum on Central Banking in Sintra, Portugal
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at City Week 2025
Given at the 15th annual edition of City Week
BankFintechPayment Provider
Given at the Centre for Central Banking Studies 'Transforming monetary policy’ conference
BankBroker DealerCrypto Exchange
Given at UK Finance Digital Innovation Summit 2025
BankFintechCrypto Exchange
Given at the Barclays-CEPR Monetary Policy Forum 2025
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Speech given at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research
BankWealth ManagerFintech
Given at the 9th NBU-NBP Annual Research Conference, Kyiv
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager
Given at Risk Live Europe
BankFintechAsset Manager
Given at FIA International Derivative Expo
BankBroker DealerCrypto Exchange
Given at Bank of Finland & SUERF Conference, Helsinki
BankAsset ManagerWealth Manager