Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the scale of the competitive advantage gained by three-party schemes in their exemption from designation under the Payment Systems Regulator; and if he will publish the results of any such assessment.

The Government consulted on which payment systems should be brought into the scope of the Payment Systems Regulator in November 2014. The decision to designate eight systems, including two card schemes, was based on the designation criteria set out in the Financial Services Act 2013, using the evidence that the Payment Systems Regulator gathered from industry.

Based on these criteria, the Government does not consider any three-party card schemes to be appropriate for designation at this time. The Government keeps this position under review through annual horizon-scanning exercises by the Payments Systems Regulator.