FCA and PSR give clarity on cVRP pricing
The FCA and PSR issued a joint statement confirming they will not, at this stage, prioritise a Competition Act investigation into the UK Payments Initiative’s centralised ‘access fee’ model for commercial VRP. The CMA signalled it does not intend to take a different position. The stance is temporary pending legislation, and applies until the new framework is in place or July 2027, whichever comes first. [^1]
Asima’s perspective. This reduces antitrust uncertainty and should accelerate cVRP pilots and procurement. Enterprises can progress proofs-of-concept on the assumption of a standardised access fee, but should negotiate service-level guarantees, dispute processes and transparent pass-through of bank-side costs. Build contracts to flex when the statutory framework lands.
Open banking turns eight: OBL reports 16.5m live connections
Open Banking Limited marked the eighth anniversary of PSD2 and UK open banking, highlighting 16.5m live user connections, an estimated £4bn+ contribution to the UK economy and almost 5,000 skilled jobs created since launch. The note underscored a clear roadmap for the “next phase of growth.” [^2]
Asima’s perspective. Adoption at this scale justifies investment in enterprise-grade A2A rails. For high-volume billers and platforms, the signal is to expand open-banking tendering beyond “alternative payment” pilots, prioritising VRP-ready gateways, observability, and bank coverage SLAs.
PSR: 88% of APP-scam losses reimbursed in first year
The PSR’s updated dashboard (covering 7 Oct 2024–30 Sep 2025) shows 88% (£173m) of in-scope APP-scam losses reimbursed, ~269,000 claims (188,000 in scope) and 82% closed within five business days. The update, published 30 January 2026, suggests the regime is delivering materially higher reimbursement rates versus pre-policy baselines. [^3]
Asima’s perspective. Expect merchants and PSPs to face higher expectations on fraud controls and claims handling. For A2A checkouts, pair SCA journeys with pre-payment warnings, beneficiary-name confidence signals and post-payment monitoring, then evidence controls to acquirers and banks to keep risk-based friction low.
PRA publishes PS1/26 - final Basel 3.1 rules
On 20 January, the PRA issued PS1/26, confirming final Basel 3.1 rules with implementation from 1 January 2027 and FRTB internal-model timing from 1 January 2028. The statement finalises rule instruments, supervisory statements and templates, following earlier consultations and the prior timetable delay. [^4]
Asima’s perspective. Capital certainty helps banks progress risk-weighted asset programmes and balance-sheet planning. For enterprise payments, this should stabilise pricing discussions around working-capital facilities and settlement risk. Build scenarios for 2027 buffers to understand any knock-on to payment-term negotiations.
Bank of England showcases Digital Pound Lab Phase 1
The Bank of England shared Phase 1 outputs of the Digital Pound Lab and held a webinar on 15 January. Demonstrators explored capabilities such as aliases, verifiable credentials and programmability features, with participants including LINK, NOBO, Fluxpay and Yotra. The Lab aims to inform future retail-payments infrastructure. [^5]
Asima’s perspective. While a digital pound remains exploratory, the Lab’s artefacts align with programmable payments and credential-based trust. Enterprises should track standards emerging here, as they may converge with VRP consent artefacts and future merchant-presented credentials.
[^1]: Financial Conduct Authority — Joint statement with PSR: clarity on open banking pricing models (cVRP), 20 Jan 2026. Link
[^2]: Open Banking Limited — Open banking marks eight years in the UK, 13 Jan 2026. Link
[^3]: Payment Systems Regulator — APP scams reimbursement dashboard (Q3 2025 data, page updated 30 Jan 2026). Link
[^4]: Bank of England / PRA — PS1/26: Implementation of Basel 3.1 — final rules, 20 Jan 2026. Link
[^5]: Bank of England — Digital Pound Lab: Phase 1 update (webinar held 15 Jan 2026). Link
