UK PSR consults on final remedy following market review of card scheme and processing fees

The UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published its consultation paper CP26/1 on proposals to require specific card schemes to report UK financial performance. The proposals stem from one of four remedies identified as possible ways to address the findings of the market review of card scheme and processing fees, which were published last year. Proposals in relation to two of the other remedies (the information, transparency and complexity remedy and the price governance remedy) have already been taken forward, while the fourth remedy is not being pursued. This consultation paper sets out the proposals to introduce the regulatory financial reporting remedy (which relates to publishing scheme information).

Following its April 2025 consultation, the PSR has engaged with stakeholders and refined the regulatory financial reporting remedy. The PSR proposes that the schemes would be required to provide: (i) a profit and loss account for their UK card operations, with relevant levels of disaggregation; and (ii) contextual information to help the PSR to understand the financial performance of their respective UK card businesses. The consultation seeks views on the scope of reporting of revenues, costs and other information in relation to contextual factors that would be reported, and also highlights refinements made by the PSR in order to remove unnecessary data points from the reporting requirements. These refinements include reducing the scope of non-card information required, no longer requiring a balance sheet, limiting the disaggregation requirements as regards reporting profit and loss information, and narrowing the scope of contextual factors.

The consultation is accompanied by a direction and guidelines. The deadline for comments is 5:00pm on 3 July.

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