February 2026 Global Payment and Digital Asset Regulatory Developments: Key Progress in the UK, US, EU, and Indonesia

导语

In February 2026, the global payments and digital assets sector witnessed intensive regulatory actions. From the UK's Payments Forward Plan to the controversy over the US Credit Card Competition Act, from the EU's online fraud governance to Indonesia's accession to a cross-border payment interconnection platform, regulators and market participants across countries are jointly reshaping payment infrastructure and rules. Meanwhile, stablecoin and digital asset regulatory frameworks have made substantial progress in multiple countries, indicating that 2026 will be a pivotal year for the transformation of the global payment system.

行业背景

Real-time payments, open banking, embedded finance, and digital assets have become key drivers of the modernization of the global financial system. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), more than 70 countries and regions worldwide have invested in the development of real-time payment systems, and improving cross-border payment efficiency remains a core agenda under the G20 framework. At the same time, competition between traditional card networks and emerging payment networks has intensified, and regulators need to strike a balance among innovation, consumer protection, and financial stability. Regulatory developments in early 2026 indicate that countries are accelerating the formulation of rules adapted to the digital era.

当前发展动态

英国：支付监管蓝图与基础设施革新

On February 26, HM Treasury (HMT) published the Payments Forward Plan, developed by the Payments Vision Delivery Committee (PVDC), established under the National Payments Vision, with members including the Bank of England, the FCA, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), and HMT. The plan sets out a regulatory roadmap for the payments industry over the next three years, covering retail payments, wholesale payments, and certain digital asset areas, and specifies timetables for various initiatives. PVDC also announced that it will strengthen the prioritization of payment regulation in the Regulatory Initiatives Grid, which will be published for the first time in 2027.

At the infrastructure level, major UK banks are accelerating the development of a new national retail payment network called “DeliveryCo.” According to a February 16 report, the project is coordinated by Barclays, with participation from Lloyds, NatWest, Santander UK, Nationwide, and the Link ATM network, and the Bank of England providing the initial infrastructure blueprint. The system is planned to go live by 2030 and will operate in parallel with Visa and Mastercard as a bank-controlled alternative. The Bank of England has established three new forums (Payments End-User Forum, Payments Innovation Design Group, and Payments Academic Advisory Group) to widely solicit input, with applications closing on March 3, 2026.

In addition, on February 24, the Bank of England issued a policy statement confirming that the operating hours of RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) and CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) will be moved to an earlier start in the morning to improve settlement efficiency. The statement is based on a July 2025 consultation and is part of the RTGS service (RT2) upgrade roadmap.In the consumer credit sector, the FCA published a policy statement (PS26/1) on February 11, formalizing the regulatory rules for "deferred payment credit" (i.e., buy now, pay later, BNPL). The new regime will take effect on July 15, 2026, with a temporary permissions registration (TPR) window from May 15 to July 1. The rules require BNPL platforms to provide clear risk warnings in credit advertisements and pre-contract information, and to comply with financial promotion guidelines. At the same time, the FCA also published a new "price cap" model for high-cost short-term credit, aiming to balance lender risk and borrower protection.

United States: Credit Card Competition Act Sparks Strong Opposition from the Banking Industry

On January 22, 11 U.S. bank and credit union groups jointly wrote to Congress, urging it to reject the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) and any expansion of the Durbin Amendment. The bill seeks to require large card issuers to support at least two independent networks for credit card transactions, extending the Durbin Amendment's restrictions on debit cards from 2010 to credit cards. The banking groups argue that the proposal would reduce consumer protections, weaken rewards programs, and restrict access to credit, while most of the savings would flow to large retailers rather than consumers. Citing the experience of the original Durbin Amendment, they noted that the reform did not lead to lower consumer prices and instead caused most retailers to maintain or raise prices. The U.S. payment ecosystem already has more than 4,000 card issuers and multiple payment methods, making the market highly competitive by nature.

European Union: Focus on Combating Online Fraud

On January 23, the European Commission published an open consultation on its "Action Plan to Combat Online Fraud." The action plan aims to address the increasingly rampant risk of fraud in digital payments and may include strengthening identity verification, data-sharing mechanisms, and consumer protection measures. This initiative is in line with the EU's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD3), and is expected to promote collaboration between financial institutions and non-bank entities in anti-fraud efforts.

Indonesia: Joining the BIS Nexus Project

On January 26, Bank Indonesia announced its participation in the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Nexus project. The project aims to connect domestic instant payment systems across countries to enable faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments. Indonesia will cooperate with the central banks of Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India, among others, and the project has entered its implementation phase. This move is highly consistent with Indonesia's Payment System Blueprint 2030, the ASEAN regional payment connectivity framework, and the G20 cross-border payment goals, and is expected to promote economic integration in Southeast Asia.

Digital Assets and Stablecoins: Accelerating Regulatory Framework ImplementationIn addition to traditional payments, digital asset regulation is also advancing in tandem. Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance and Federal Ministry of Justice are evaluating the Electronic Securities Act, considering bringing more financial instruments into the digital issuance framework. The UAE has approved the first dollar-backed stablecoin, consistent with its Payment Token Services Regulation. Hong Kong is expected to issue its first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses in March 2026, further cementing its status as an international digital asset hub. The U.S. SEC and CFTC, meanwhile, have jointly launched the “Project Crypto” agenda, aiming to provide a unified regulatory pathway for the digital asset market through coordinated rulemaking between the two agencies.

Impact on the Financial System

Payment Efficiency: The extended operating hours of the UK's RTGS/CHAPS and Indonesia's participation in the Nexus project will significantly shorten transaction settlement delays and reduce cross-border transfer costs. The DeliveryCo infrastructure is expected to break the card network monopoly and offer consumers and businesses more options.

Financial Inclusion: Clearer BNPL regulation helps protect borrowers from excessive debt risk, while cross-border payment interconnectivity facilitates remittance flows, particularly benefiting small and medium-sized enterprises and migrant communities in Southeast Asia.

Banking Competition: The establishment of the UK's new retail payment network will intensify competition at the payment infrastructure level, and the debate over the U.S. Credit Card Competition Act also reflects market participants' differing expectations of rule changes. To maintain their influence, banks are actively engaging in infrastructure construction and lobbying efforts.

Compliance Costs: The new regulatory rules require financial institutions to increase investment in anti-fraud, data governance, and consumer protection. The UK's BNPL rules and the EU's online fraud action plan will push companies to upgrade their technology systems and compliance processes.

Risk Management: The rollout of real-time payment infrastructure demands stronger fraud monitoring and liquidity management capabilities. Greater transparency in digital asset regulation helps mitigate money laundering and illicit financing risks, but cross-border coordination remains a challenge.

Challenges

• Data Privacy and Sharing: Cross-border payment interconnectivity and anti-fraud initiatives require cross-border data flows, but privacy regulations in different jurisdictions are in conflict.
• Cybersecurity: Real-time payment systems expand the attack surface, and banks and regulators must strengthen their ability to defend against cyber threats.
• Technical Integration Difficulty: Setting up the UK's new retail payment network involves system modifications across a large number of banks and ATM operators, with long implementation timelines and high technical complexity.
• Regulatory Fragmentation: Although the U.S. SEC and CFTC's “Project Crypto” is intended to coordinate, differences between state regulations and the federal framework could impede market unification. Stablecoins and digital assets still lack consistent classification standards globally.

Future OutlookOver the next three to five years, the global payment system will exhibit four core trends: first, retail payment infrastructure is accelerating its modernization, with the UK's DeliveryCo and similar projects likely promoting the emergence of more "banking alliance" models; second, instant cross-border payment networks will continue to expand, and the BIS Nexus project is expected to connect more Asian and global markets; third, payment regulation is shifting from rule-making to dynamic governance, and roadmaps such as the UK's PVDC will serve as reference templates for other countries; fourth, digital asset regulation is gradually moving from an "incremental" approach to a "systematic" one, with many countries set to form clearer institutional frameworks for stablecoins, electronic securities, and digital asset market structures.

On the technological front, AI and distributed ledger technology will play a more central role in payment clearing and settlement. The "Global Layer 1" initiative involving the Bank of England and collaborations such as the Transatlantic Markets Future Task Force both indicate that international standards will gradually converge.

For practitioners, grasping the direction of regulation, adjusting compliance frameworks in advance, and deeply engaging in standard exploration will be key to maintaining a leading position in global competition. The developments at the start of 2026 show that the "positive interaction" between fintech and regulation is fostering a more resilient, secure, and inclusive global payment ecosystem.