New Payment System Operator (NPSO), the UK’s new retail payments authority, has revealed the initial details of the procurement process for the clearing and settlement layer of the New Payments Architecture (NPA).
NPA, a conceptual model for payments in the UK, will process more than £6.7trn ($8.8trn). These will be from Bacs, Faster Payments as well as potentially cheque payments starting in 2021.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The implementation is expected to improve payment services as well as simplify associated standards and processes.
The procurement process was initiated following the consolidation of Faster Payments and Bacs into NPSO.
Strategy
NPSO said that it intends to appoint a strategic partner. This partner will be responsible for the implementation of a scalable infrastructure.
The authority stated the NPA platform will be incorporated with the capability for clearing Faster Payments. Other features will follow.
Next year, NPSO is planning to conduct further consultation on transferring payment volumes that are currently cleared through Bacs.
The capability of payments being processed using the Image Clearing System (ICS) for cheques is also expected to be migrated.
NPSO chief executive Paul Horlock said: “The New Payments Architecture project represents a massive opportunity for suppliers to be involved in delivering the future of payments in the UK.
“We need a long-term strategic partner that is capable of working with us to safely deliver a scalable infrastructure which can process trillions of pounds worth of payments every year.”
The specific details and the complete prospectus will be published next month.
