UK Banks Plot DeliveryCo Platform to Handle 50 Billion Annual Payments
Britain’s biggest banks including Santander, Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and Nationwide will meet Thursday to develop DeliveryCo, a domestic payments platform capable of handling 50 billion annual transactions to replace Visa and Mastercard operations in case of U.S. interference. The scheme, overseen by the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, aims to cut reliance on U.S. payment rails.
1. Formation of DeliveryCo Blueprint
On Thursday, representatives from Santander, Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds and Nationwide will convene under the chairmanship of Barclays UK head Vim Maru to lay out the blueprint for DeliveryCo, a new domestic payments network.
2. Platform Capacity and Governance
DeliveryCo is designed to process 50 billion transactions annually and will be governed by the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board, with UK Finance coordinating implementation and the Bank of England providing regulatory oversight.
3. Strategic Rationale and Risk Mitigation
The initiative seeks to safeguard the UK economy against potential U.S. payment system shutdowns by establishing an alternative to Visa and Mastercard, which together handle 95% of UK card transactions, thereby reducing dependence on foreign financial infrastructure.