UK Banks Launch £50M Payments Delivery Company Rival to Visa

Major UK banks are launching a fundraising effort to establish an alternative domestic payments infrastructure called the Payments Delivery Company, putting downward pressure on Visa and Mastercard shares as lenders move to bypass traditional card networks, according to Investing.com.

The newly formed UK Payments Delivery Company (PDC) is launching an equity raise to initially secure approximately £50 million from industry participants, including banks, lenders, and payment services providers, according to the report.

Funding and Timeline Through 2028

The £50 million in initial funding is intended to finance the PDC through 2028, covering its incorporation and mobilization stages while leadership searches are conducted, according to Investing.com.

"The PDC is launching an equity raise to initially secure approximately £50 million from industry participants, including banks, lenders, and payment services providers," according to the report.

Alongside the capital mobilization, organizers have initiated a formal search for a chief executive to steer the entity through its developmental phase.

Competitive Threat to Global Card Networks

The emergence of the PDC represents a structural challenge to the duopoly long held by Visa and Mastercard in the UK payments ecosystem. By pooling resources, major British financial institutions aim to reduce interchange fees and lower their reliance on overseas card rails for domestic transactions.

As the PDC progresses through its incorporation and leadership search milestones toward its 2028 operational targets, market participants continue to monitor how alternative rails could alter the economics of domestic retail banking.