Financial Services and Markets Act 2023

4 After section 102 (power of PRA to require Regulator to refrain from specified action), insert—

“Recommendations

102A Recommendations by Treasury in connection with general duties

(1) The Treasury may at any time by notice in writing to the Payment Systems Regulator make recommendations to the Regulator about aspects of the economic policy of His Majesty’s Government to which the Regulator should have regard when considering—

(a) how to advance one or more of its payment systems objectives,

(b) the application of the regulatory principles in section 53, and

(c) its exercise of functions under—

(i) Regulation (EU) 2015/751 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on interchange fees for card-based payment transactions,

(ii) the Payment Card Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/1911), or

(iii) the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/752).

(2) The Treasury must make recommendations under subsection (1) at least once in each Parliament.

(3) The Payment Systems Regulator must respond to each recommendation made to it under subsection (1) by notifying the Treasury in writing of—

(a) action that the Regulator has taken or intends to take in accordance with the recommendation, or

(b) the reasons why the Regulator has not acted or does not intend to act in accordance with the recommendation.

(4) The notice under subsection (3) must be given before the end of 12 months beginning with the date the notice containing the recommendation was given under subsection (1).

(5) Where the Payment Systems Regulator has given notice under subsection (3) in relation to a recommendation, the Regulator must by notice in writing update the Treasury on the matters mentioned in subsection (3)(a) and (b) before the end of each subsequent period of 12 months.

(6) Subsection (5) does not apply if the Treasury have notified the Payment Systems Regulator in writing that no update (or further update) is required.

(7) The Payment Systems Regulator is not required under subsection (3) or (5) to provide any information whose publication would in the opinion of the Regulator be against the public interest.

(8) The Treasury must—

(a) publish in such manner as they think fit any notice given under subsection (1), (3) or (5), and

(b) lay a copy of it before Parliament.”