UK bank executives will convene this Thursday for the first formal meeting to establish a national alternative to Visa and Mastercard, responding to escalating anxieties over the potential for disruption to the UK economy should Donald Trump take action against US-owned payment systems. The meeting, led by Barclays UK chief executive Vim Maru, will bring together City funders to finance a new payments company designed to maintain economic stability in the event of issues with existing infrastructure.
The initiative, backed by the government but funded by the City, has been under discussion for years. However, recent rhetoric from Trump, including threats against NATO allies regarding Greenland, has intensified concerns about over-reliance on US companies and the vulnerability of UK payments, according to sources familiar with the project.
Approximately 95% of UK card transactions currently utilize payment systems owned by Mastercard and Visa, according to a 2025 report by the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator. This dominance is particularly significant given the continuing decline in cash usage across the country. “If Mastercard and Visa were turned off, it would send us back to the 1950s,” one executive involved in the project told the Guardian. “Of course, we need a sovereign payments system.”
The potential for disruption mirrors concerns seen in Russia, where US sanctions led to Visa and Mastercard suspending services, leaving individuals and businesses without access to funds. Similar calls for independent payment networks are growing within the European Union. Aurore Lalucq, chair of the European parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee, recently warned that reliance on US companies for essential services leaves Europe vulnerable, stating, “Trump can cut everything off.”
The UK is adopting a more collaborative approach than the EU, with both Visa and Mastercard participating in the initiative as funders, securing a stake and a voice alongside banks including Santander UK, NatWest, Nationwide, Lloyds Banking Group, the ATM network Link, and Coventry Building Society.
While UK officials emphasize the need for a backup system, they have refrained from directly attributing their concerns to specific threats from the US. Bank of England deputy governor Sarah Breeden recently stated that a new system “could provide a degree of extra resilience in the UK payments landscape, as an additional payment rail on the rare occasion of operational disruption to existing rails.”
Joe Garner, former Nationwide chief executive and government advisor on national payments, echoed this sentiment, stating, “Regardless of any political developments, the UK needs to do this. We needed to before, we need to now… I don’t think that’s changed by recent events.”
City funders will be responsible for establishing the legal structure, leadership, and funding model for the new payments alternative, known as DeliveryCo. The Bank of England will develop infrastructure blueprints to be handed over to the group next year. The new system is projected to be operational by 2030.
Visa responded to the initiative by stating its commitment to the UK and welcoming competition, adding that it aims to provide “access to innovative, secure digital payments with the highest levels of resilience, and reliability.” Mastercard similarly affirmed its long-standing investment in the UK, stating its dedication to “drive commerce here at home and across the globe.”
UK Finance, providing administrative support to the DeliveryCo project, declined to comment. The Treasury and the Bank of England likewise declined to comment.
News of the UK initiative comes as Visa faces online backlash for partnering with Donald Trump on his new investment account for children, the “Trump Account.” Visa announced it would allow cardholders to direct credit card rewards into these accounts, a move criticized by some as political alignment. The Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged savings and investment accounts for children born in the U.S. Between 2025-2028, seeded with $1,000. A Visa spokesperson noted the scheme received bipartisan support and is IRS approved.
