Payments Council

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Payments Council logo
Payments Council logo
Payments Council
Established: March 2007
Chairman: Brian Pomeroy

The Payments Council is the organisation that sets strategy for UK payments. It has been established to ensure that UK payment systems and services meet the needs of users, payment service providers and the wider economy.


The Payments Council has three core objectives:

- to lead the future development of co-operative payment services in the UK in order to ensure that the payment system as a whole meets the needs of payment service providers, users and the wider economy.

- to ensure that the payment system is open, accountable and transparent.

- to ensure the operational efficiency, effectiveness and integrity of payment services in the UK.


The Payments Council works closely with a number of contracted schemes, for the benefit of the UK payments industry as a whole. These include BACS Payments Schemes Limited, CHAPS Clearing Company Limited, Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited, and LINK (UK)ATM Scheme.


One of the Payments Council’s first tasks will be to manage a full public consultation process, leading to the creation and adoption of a National Payments Plan. This plan will look at things such as opportunities arising from new technologies, the improvement of supply chain efficiency and e-invoicing, the future of the cheque guarantee scheme and the impact of SEPA on UK payments.


The Payments Council has a Board of 16 directors. To ensure that the needs of all users of payment systems are met, four of the Board’s directors and its chairman are independent.


The Payments Council is a voluntary membership organisation, with 27 founding members:


Payments Council website