The Payments Association, a trade group representing the payments sector, has published The Payments Manifesto 2027, setting out a national strategy for trusted, competitive and innovative payments by 2030. The manifesto calls for payments to be recognised as critical national infrastructure, alongside sectors such as energy, telecommunications and transport. Aimed at government, regulators and industry leaders, the Manifesto draws on engagement with The Payments Association’s membership and has been reviewed by its Advisory Board. It builds on the Government’s National Payments Vision, setting out practical priorities to support progress towards 2030. The Payments Manifesto 2027: A national strategy for trusted, competitive and innovative payments by 2030 is structured around four interconnected national objectives. Growth, Competitiveness and Resilience focuses on modernising UK payments infrastructure through interoperability and resilience, while creating the conditions for payments businesses to grow and compete internationally. Trust, Security and Consumer Protection calls for earlier fraud prevention through intelligence sharing and accountability across the fraud chain, alongside improvements in financial inclusion, capability and meaningful payment choice. AI, Data and Digital Infrastructure seeks trusted rules for secure and accountable agentic payments, supported by internationally interoperable standards for agentic commerce. The future of Money and Payments calls for coherent, proportionate and internationally interoperable regulation for next-generation payments, including stablecoins and tokenised money. Nick Kerigan, Chair of The Payments Association’s Advisory Board and Managing Director, Head of Innovation at Swift, emphasised that payments are the invisible infrastructure of the UK economy. He highlighted that the Manifesto combines policy recommendations with The Payments Association’s commitment to convene expertise, build evidence and test proposals against real market experience. He also pointed to the Manifesto’s proposal on agentic commerce, interoperability and earlier fraud prevention as examples of how industry collaboration can help strengthen the UK’s payments sector by 2030. Emma Banymandhub, CEO of The Payments Association, said: “The assumption that payments can run on autopilot while facing mounting fraud and digital disruption has to end. Payments are the vital economic lifeblood keeping society functioning. If money stopped moving for even five minutes, the fallout would be significant. We aren't just presenting a wish list. Our members are stepping up to deliver the accountability, infrastructure and cross-sector collaboration required to future-proof the UK economy." Renuka Rawlins, Director of Policy and Government Relations at The Payments Association, commented: “The challenge now is turning policy ambition into practical progress. This Manifesto identifies where industry, government and regulators need to work together to deliver meaningful change. The Payments Association will help convene that collaboration, develop the evidence needed to inform decisions and track progress against the priorities as we work towards 2030.” The Manifesto’s eight policy recommendations cover the modernisation of UK payments infrastructure; international competitiveness for payments businesses; earlier fraud prevention through actionable intelligence sharing; financial inclusion and meaningful payment choice; trusted rules for agentic payments; internationally interoperable standards for agentic commerce; proportionate regulation for next-generation payments; and interoperability between existing and emerging forms of regulated money. NoYesPayments05 Nov, 2026