News from the Wire

Digital payment solutions could unlock billions for UK consumers, report finds

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 — 18:29:01 (UTC)

London, UK – Wednesday, October 29th: The Payments Association, a trade group representing the UK payments sector, has shared key findings from new research by WPI Economics, which quantifies the massive economic value of using digital payment innovations—such as prepaid cards, open banking and budgeting apps—to address financial exclusion.

The research comes as the payments industry anticipates the publication of HM Treasury’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy, which signals a key moment for advocating for a more inclusive financial ecosystem. The findings demonstrate that digital payment innovations are not just a financial or social tool, but a powerful engine for national economic growth.

While the UK has made progress, millions of people still struggle to access appropriate financial services. The new report highlights how innovation in digital payments is a crucial vehicle for bridging this gap, delivering real-world economic relief and building financial resilience for the most vulnerable consumers.

The Multi-Billion Pound Opportunity

The research, commissioned by The Payments Association’s Financial Inclusion Working Group, supported by Mastercard, provides compelling evidence that scaling existing digital payment solutions could lead to significant consumer welfare gains and reduced reliance on high-cost credit.

Increasing the use of pre-paid cards could unlock £210 million in reduced debt interest payments through supporting consumers to budget and helping them build greater financial stability. Furthermore, Personal Financial Management (PFM) apps offer substantial benefits, potentially making individual users as much as £445 better off each year, which translates to a collective boost of up to £24.5 billion to consumer finances annually. This potential for savings is further demonstrated by specific PFM features like transaction "round-ups," which can save users up to £648 per year. The report estimates that if just 30% of PFM users in the UK were to adopt this feature, it could unlock nearly £1.3 billion in annual savings.

Newer innovations like earned wage access (EWA) schemes provide financial flexibility and liquidity to workers. EWA schemes already saving users more than £69 million a year in fees and interest, preventing reliance on high-interest payday loans for short-term advances (based on an estimated typical advance of £193 taken over a two-week period). Finally, expanding workplace savings schemes, facilitated by account-to-account (A2A) payments, could lead to increased national savings of up to £630 million annually, particularly if they reach the three million people who currently have no savings.

Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi, Director of Policy at The Payments Association, said: “This research by WPI Economics suggests that payments innovation, across cards, open banking and account-to-account payments, is key to supporting financial inclusion and boosting the economy. We hope that our recommendations are thoroughly considered by HMT before publishing the forthcoming National Financial Inclusion Strategy.” The report, which includes contributions from payments innovators and industry experts, examines how technologies like cards, open banking and A2A payments are ensuring that innovation will continue to facilitate the creation of solutions for the unbanked and underbanked long into the future. ENDS About The Payments Association The Payments Association is a community for all companies in payments, whatever their size, capability, location or regulatory status. Its purpose is to empower the most influential community in payments, where the connections, collaboration and learning shape an industry that works for all. It works closely with industry stakeholders such as the Bank of England, the FCA, HM Treasury, the PSR, Pay.UK, UK Finance and Innovate Finance. Through its comprehensive programme of activities and with guidance from an independent Advisory Board of leading payments CEOs, The Payments Association facilitates the connections and builds the bridges that join the ecosystem together and make it stronger. These activities include a programme of monthly digital and face-to-face events including an annual conference, PAY360, FC360, The PAY360 Awards dinner, CEO roundtables and training activities. The Payments Association also runs eight stakeholder working project groups covering financial inclusion, regulation, economic crime, merchant payments, cross-border payments, open banking, digital currencies and ESG. The volunteers in these groups represent the collective views of the industry and work together to ensure the key issues facing the industry are addressed effectively. The association also conducts original research through our Payments Intelligence offering, which is made available to members and the authorities. TPA also collaborated with members to produce industry-leading whitepapers, insightful interviews and tips from the industry’s most successful CEOs. Media contact Ian Donegan, SkyParlour for The Payments Association ian@skyparlour.com +44 (0)330 043 1315

Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact information, links and other details may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.

Source: Company press release.

Categories: Reports and research