What to expect this year
With the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) market reviews into card fees now well advanced, the focus has shifted from findings to implementation. Across both card scheme and processing fees and cross-border interchange fees, the PSR has set out its conclusions and is moving through consultations on remedies and potential price controls.
Scheme and processing fees: from findings to remedies
In its final report published in March 2025, the PSR concluded that the market for card scheme and processing fees is not working effectively, citing weak competition, rising costs, and a lack of transparency.
Since then, the PSR has begun developing remedies, with formal consultations expected through 2026. The current direction of travel is focused on:
- improved fee transparency and disclosure requirements,
- enhanced governance over pricing decisions, and
- new regulatory financial reporting obligations.
However, for retailers, this remains an incomplete response. We continue to argue that transparency alone will not address the structural issues in a highly concentrated market. We are therefore calling for direct price intervention, including caps on scheme and processing fees, to prevent further unjustified increases. As remedies consultations progress in 2026, a key question is whether the PSR will go beyond transparency and move towards pricing controls.
Cross-border interchange fees: evidence phase to price cap design
Alongside this, the PSR has been progressing its review of UK–EEA cross-border interchange fees. Its interim findings (published in 2023 and developed through 2024) identified significant post-Brexit fee increases that were not supported by underlying costs.
Throughout 2025 and into 2026, the PSR has moved into the evidence-gathering phase to support a long-term price cap, including merchant surveys and economic analysis. In early 2026 the UK High Court confirmed the PSR’s powers to impose caps in this area, removing legal uncertainty and allowing the PSR to proceed with a cap.
We strongly supported this approach, maintaining that robust and enforceable caps are essential to address excessive and unjustified cross-border fees. Across both reviews, our position remains that the current card payments market is not delivering fair or competitive outcomes.
We have consistently called for:
- price caps on cross-border interchange fees,
- price caps or equivalent controls on scheme and processing fees, and
- stronger regulatory oversight of fee-setting practices.
Without intervention on pricing, transparency and governance reforms alone will not constrain fee increases in a market with limited effective competition.
What comes next
As of April 2026, the PSR’s programme is entering a critical delivery phase:
- 2026 (ongoing): consultation on draft direction remedies for scheme and processing fees, focused on transparency, governance, and reporting
- 2026 (ongoing): continued evidence gathering and stakeholder engagement on cross-border interchange
- Late 2026 / 2027 (expected): consultation on, and potential implementation of, a formal price cap on cross-border interchange fees
- Further ahead: potential escalation of intervention on scheme and processing fees, depending on the impact of transparency remedies and continued industry pressure
For retailers, the coming months will be pivotal. While the PSR has clearly identified problems in both markets, the effectiveness of its intervention will ultimately depend on whether it is prepared to move beyond transparency and introduce meaningful pricing controls.
