Introduction and message from Rich Wagner, CEO and founder APS and Chairman of the Emerging Payments Association (EPA With the ’s history of sohisticated financia ser­ices, it is unsurrising that the nation is no€ eading the charge €ith FinTech inno­ation‚ In­estments in the sector ha­e gro€n at ƒ„… a year in the  and Ire and since †‡‡ˆ, comared €ith †ƒ… g o‰a y and Š‹… in Si icon Œa ey‚ The ayments sace in articu ar has ‰een shaŽen ‰y ne€ entrants, €ith an a­erage of £†‡ ‰i ion in annua re­enue no€ generated across ayments soft€are, data and ana ytics  atforms‚ The  go­ernment is Žeen to maintain this momentum, and has announced a num‰er of schemes to ensure the  remains at the forefront of g o‰a inno­ation in the financia ser­ices sector – from aointing industry ­eteran Ei een “ur‰idge as the ’s FinTech en­oy, to announcing a regu atory sand‰o” for financia ser­ices inno­ators‚ •et, €hi e aearances may suggest that the industry and regu atory andscae is oening the doors to disrution, there is sti a Žey ‰arrier to inno­ation in the ayments sector‚ Access to ayment systems oerators, such as “ACS, Faster Payments and C–APS is reser­ed on y for ‰anŽs‚ This means that the myriad of a ternati­e ayment ser­ice ro­iders (PSPs and e—money issuers (E˜Is are forced to run on the rai s of traditiona ‰anŽs, desite ‰eing hea­i y regu ated ‰y the FCA themse ­es‚ In a €or d €here thousands of ayments are rocessed through non—traditiona ro­iders e­ery day, this system no onger maŽes sense‚ In a €or d €here thousands of I ha­e ‰een in the ayments industry for o­er ‹‡ years and ha­e a €ays fought to e­e the  aying fie d ‰et€een ‰anŽs and ayments are rocessed through a ternati­e financia ser­ices ro­iders‚ It has ‰een my ‰e ief that non—traditiona ro­iders e­ery day, if you ush hard enough, maŽe your ­oice heard and ‰e ie­e this system no onger maŽes sense‚ strong y enough in the ­a ue of your o€n ser­ice, the traditiona infrastructures €i sit u and isten‚ At a time €hen on y traditiona ‰anŽs cou d artner €ith the ma™or card associations in †‡‡ƒ, APS ‰ecame the first non—‰anŽ issuer to gain ˜asterCard mem‰ershi‚ Simi ar y, €hi e it may ha­e taŽen se­en years of ersistence, ast year €e ‰ecame the first e­er non—‰anŽ to inŽ u €ith the Post Office – ena‰ ing us to ro­ide rea —time face—to—face ‰anŽing ser­ices ­ia its net€orŽ of ŠŠ,‡‡‡ ‰ranches‚ 2 | Payment infrastructure: a call for fair and equal access for FinTech