Closing comments: Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress I wholeheartedly support the BoE’s decision to review the current model, which denies non-banks from accessing settlement accounts, and thus infrastructure such as Faster Payments. We have been fighting for such a move for a long-time and the fact that the BoE is at last considering this issue, is a step in the right direction. Such a measure Rich Wagner, would not be possible without the support and rallying of the Payment Systems CEO and Regulator (PSR), which has created a real force for change over the past year. We hope Founder, APS to build a long-term solution that provides fair and equal access to non-banks, while and Chairman, paying due credit to banks, who were the founding fathers of these systems. However, Emerging we urge both regulators and infrastructures – in particular Faster Payments – not to Payments be stalled by the plans of the BoE. Actual change from the BoE will take significantly Association longer to implement. In the meantime, key non-bank payment providers will lose out (EPA) on valuable business and growth opportunities, all the while being chained to high street banks. A short-term hybrid solution would deliver the perfect test-bed for the BoE – providing proof that alternative payment providers can be trusted with access to these systems, while the BoE works on its long-term plan to grant truly direct access to non-banks. I have been championing change in the UK payments system for over a decade. The changes I have helped to enforce have opened up opportunities to a number of companies, resulting in not only more innovation, but also greater competition. The Emerging Payments Association represents more than 75 companies from across the payments ecosystem, and together we aim to advance innovation while driving the Tony Craddock UK forward as the global innovation hub for payments. The EPA accepts that change Director General, in payment systems does not happen overnight, and nor should it. But the EPA fully Emerging supports making changes to access to the payments system soon. Not only will the Payments EPA’s members and their customers benefit, this will also allow the UK to continue to Association demonstrate its global leadership as the most progressive and innovative country in the (EPA) world for payment systems. Payment infrastructure: a call for fair and equal access for FinTech | 13