Britain plots Visa rival over fears Trump could pull the plug on payments

Britain’s largest banks are developing DeliveryCo, a proposed rival to Visa and Mastercard, after reported concerns about possible U.S. interference with global payment systems.

Britain’s largest banks are working on a domestic payments platform called DeliveryCo. The banks are reported to be meeting to develop a blueprint for the scheme, with the forum said to be chaired by Vim Maru of Barclays UK. The initiative is framed as a response to concerns about reliance on U.S. payment infrastructure and the risk of external interference. The Treasury and the Bank of England have previously set out plans and a Retail Payments Infrastructure Board taskforce to modernize UK retail payments. Key points: - Lenders reported to be involved include Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds, Santander and Nationwide, meeting for the first time to develop a blueprint. - DeliveryCo is described as an alternative intended to handle around 50 billion payments a year and reduce reliance on Visa and Mastercard. - The industry meeting is being coordinated by UK Finance and the forum is reported to be chaired by Vim Maru. - The Treasury and the Bank of England have already advanced planning through public initiatives and a taskforce on retail payments. Summary: The reported plan aims to create domestic capacity for retail payments and lessen dependence on U.S.-based card networks. Banks will meet to refine a DeliveryCo blueprint; further decisions and implementation timelines remain undetermined at this time.