Senior banking executives from across Britain will convene on Thursday for an inaugural gathering aimed at creating a homegrown payments network that could operate independently of American financial infrastructure.
Vim Maru, who leads Barclays’ UK operations, will chair the session bringing together City financiers prepared to fund a new payments enterprise designed to safeguard the British economy against potential disruptions.
The project, dubbed DeliveryCo, represents a Government-supported but privately financed effort that has been in development for several years.
Heightened anxieties surrounding Washington’s influence over critical financial systems have accelerated momentum behind the scheme, particularly following recent tensions between President Donald Trump administration and NATO partners concerning Greenland.
Big banks plot UK ‘sovereign payments system’
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Britain’s reliance on Visa and Mastercard is stark, with the two American corporations handling approximately 95 per cent of all card payments in the country, according to the Payment Systems Regulator’s 2025 analysis.
Speaking to The Guardian, one banking executive shared: “If Mastercard and Visa were turned off, it would send us back to the 1950. Of course, we need a sovereign payments system.”
When US sanctions compelled both payment giants to cease operations in Russia, where they processed 60 per cent of transactions, ordinary citizens found themselves unable to access their money or purchase essential goods.
European politicians have adopted a more confrontational approach, with Aurore Lalucq, chair of the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee, issuing a warning that gained widespread attention last month.
The Trump White House has spooked UK big banks
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REUTERSBarclays appears to be spearheading the talks
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GETTYMs Lalucq shared: “Visa, Mastercard the urgent issue is our payment system. Trump can cut everything off. The rest is poetry. I urgently request that the commission organise a European Airbus for payment systems: you can’t say you weren’t warned.”
However, Britain has opted for a collaborative model that includes the American payment firms themselves.
The consortium backing DeliveryCo encompasses Visa and Mastercard alongside major lenders such as NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander UK, Nationwide, Coventry Building Society and the ATM operator Link.
Under the current schedule, the new payments infrastructure is expected to become operational by 2030.
Visa customers report of payment issues across the UK | PA
City financiers will assume responsibility for establishing the legal framework, appointing leadership and determining how the venture will be funded going forward, while the Bank of England develops technical blueprints to be transferred to the group next year.J
oe Garner, former Nationwide chief executive who advised the government on Rachel Reeves’ national payments strategy and conducted an independent review of the sector in 2023, told the Guardian: “Regardless of any political developments, the UK needs to do this.
“We needed to before, we need to now I don’t think that’s changed by recent events.” Both Visa and Mastercard expressed their commitment to the British market and welcomed increased competition.”
The Treasury and the Bank of England has been reached out for comment.