Speech by David Geale, executive director, payments and digital finance and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) managing director, at the Payments Regulation and Innovation Summit 2026.
A payments system that works for everyoneJust before Christmas I was in Billericay for the opening of the 200th banking hub.I got to chat to local people and business owners about the difference the hub will make to their everyday lives. It was great.Although if I’m honest, the biggest talking point was probably the giant chocolate coins made specially for the occasion.Roman coins. Medieval coins. Old two shilling pieces. All the size of dinner plates.I think that’s the first time I’ve seen people genuinely happy to eat into their funds!As educational – and tasty – as the coins were, banking hubs aren’t about nostalgia for cash.They’re one part of making sure the UK payments system works for different people, different businesses, and different moments in life.Sometimes that will mean cash, so it’s positive to see the acceleration in delivery of hubs.That is alongside nearly 150 other cash solutions across the UK, and pledges from banks to maintain their networks – or even in some cases, to open new branches.But other times it might mean cards, digital wallets, open banking, or even stablecoin and tokenised deposits.In reality, all of these methods co-exist and need to work alongside one another.Our job as regulators isn’t to pick winners. It’s to make sure the system as a whole is trusted, coherent and future-proof, whatever form a payment takes.