regulation of payment systems

Part of Subsequent stages – in the House of Commons at 2:53 pm on 11 December 2013.

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Photo of Sajid Javid Sajid Javid The Financial Secretary to the Treasury 2:53, 11 December 2013

I have listened to my hon. Friend carefully, and others have made that point previously, but I do not share those concerns. I think that the regulator will move on that swiftly. The changes that have so far been made to payments, such as the switching service, are already making a real difference.

Ultimately, if the payments system regulator determines that the current ownership structures need to be broken up to achieve adequate competition, it will have the power to require disposals of interests in operators of the regulated systems. It will also have the power to enforce Competition Act 1998 prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominance and to make market investigation references to the Competition and Markets Authority.

The amendments create a competition-focused regulator in this key market.