The Bank of England and the Payment Systems Regulator have announced that the New Payment System Operator is now responsible for the operation of BACS and Faster Payments, two U.K. retail payment systems. The NPSO is expected to assume responsibility for the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company over the next few months. The consolidation of the three payment systems was one of the recommendations made in the Payments Strategy Forum's November 2016 report, which sets out a wide-ranging strategy for reforming the U.K. retail payments industry. The NPSO will also be responsible for delivering the New Payments Architecture, which is an industry-led initiative to increase competition, resilience and innovation across the payments and banking industry.

View the BoE and PSR announcement.

View the NPSO press release.