The 2026 King’s Speech has set out a legislative programme with direct implications for UK fintech, payments, digital identity, cyber resilience and financial services regulation.
While much of the speech focused on economic security, public services, infrastructure and national security, several proposed bills will be closely watched by financial technology firms and the wider financial services sector.
The Government confirmed plans for an Enhancing Financial Services Bill, a Digital Access to Services Bill, a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, a Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill and a broader Regulating for Growth Bill. Together, the measures point to a policy agenda focused on regulatory reform, digital public infrastructure and business payment practices.
Financial services reform moves into legislation
For fintech and payments firms, the most directly relevant measure is the Enhancing Financial Services Bill. According to the Government’s briefing notes, the Bill will deliver parts of the Leeds Reforms, modernise consumer protections and consolidate the Payment Systems Regulator within the Financial Conduct Authority. The Government says this should reduce overlapping regulatory responsibilities and support clearer decision-making.
The Bill is also expected to reform the Financial Ombudsman Service and reduce the administrative burden of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime by 50 per cent, while maintaining consumer, prudential and market protections.
Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, said the Bill introduces measures the organisation has advocated for through its Unicorn Council for UK fintech and wider membership.
“Today’s King’s Speech unveils a new Financial Services Bill which introduces a range of measures to streamline UK regulation,” she said. “This includes faster authorisations, a more proportionate approach to approval and certification of senior managers, and a more focused role for the Financial Ombudsman to reduce the risk of acting as a shadow regulator.”
Hirt added that proposals on payments should give regulators more flexibility, but said this also increased the need for accountability.
“As the Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England take on more powers and responsibilities in payments, there is now a strong case for giving the Bank a statutory objective to promote growth, competition and innovation in payments systems and regulation,” she said.
UK Finance also welcomed the direction of the reforms. David Postings, chief executive of UK Finance, said regulatory reform was “essential” to strengthening the sector’s international competitiveness.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to delivering reforms UK Finance and the industry has long called for, including changes to the Financial Ombudsman Service, integrating the PSR into the FCA, and reducing the administrative burden of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime,” he said.
Payments oversight and fraud prevention
The proposed integration of the PSR into the FCA is likely to be one of the most closely watched measures for the payments industry.
Kristaps Zips, UK CEO at payabl., said the move would be “quietly welcomed” by many firms as a step towards reducing the burden on businesses.
“The current system has meant firms are often dealing with a complex regulatory environment and multiple organisations at once, costing businesses time, resources and money,” he said. “Consolidating that oversight into a single regulator gives the FCA a clearer picture of the full payments landscape, fostering better informed regulation as a result.”
However, some industry figures warned that consolidation should not be read as lighter supervision.
Jonathan Frost, director of global advisory for EMEA at BioCatch, said the Financial Services Bill would change how fraud is regulated in UK payments.
“Any consolidation of oversight should retain the PSR’s specialist payments expertise, as a unified regulator with broader enforcement powers is unlikely to take a lighter approach,” he said.
Frost added that the FCA’s expanded remit would bring Consumer Duty further into focus, particularly around scam warnings and fraud prevention.
“Prevention, not remediation, is the standard,” he said. “Even if increased prevention only enables us to hold the line against criminals, we will still fall short of the primary objective of stopping criminals from profiting in the first place.”
Digital ID returns to the fintech agenda
The King’s Speech also confirmed plans for a Digital Access to Services Bill, which will introduce Digital ID as part of wider efforts to modernise access to public services. The Government says the system will be free to access and available for use across public services and the wider economy.
The Government’s digital ID explainer says the scheme is intended to help people prove identity, age and residency status, with credentials stored on a user’s device in a similar way to contactless payment cards or the NHS App.
For fintech firms, the relevance lies less in public service access alone and more in identity verification, onboarding, fraud prevention and know-your-customer checks.
Tom Kelleher, co-founder of Icon Solutions, said the inclusion of digital ID and strengthened cyber security measures was particularly significant for banks.
“These initiatives lay important groundwork for more secure customer onboarding, stronger identity verification, reduced fraud risk, and more streamlined access to both public and financial services, all of which are central to the future of digital banking,” he said.
Zips at payabl. said the debate around digital ID should not focus only on whether the system is mandatory or voluntary.
“The opportunities extend far wider than just the right-to-work, including combatting financial fraud,” he said. “For fintechs, the benefits can go further still – from streamlining KYC and customer onboarding to reducing the cost and complexity of identity verification.”
Late payments bill targets SME cash flow
The Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill will also be relevant for fintech firms serving small businesses, invoice finance, accounts receivable automation and B2B payments.
The Government says late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion each year and lead to the closure of 38 businesses every day. The Bill will impose maximum payment terms of 60 days, enforce mandatory interest at eight per cent above the Bank of England base rate, introduce time limits for invoice disputes and give the Small Business Commissioner new investigatory and enforcement powers.
Rick Verma, UK director at Billtrust, said the proposed legislation was a welcome signal, but argued that businesses also need better payment processes.
“Late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion a year, and while penalising large firms that consistently pay late is a welcome move, it still leaves SMEs choosing between chasing payment and keeping a client,” he said.
Verma added that automation could help businesses reduce Days Sales Outstanding and cut manual work around invoicing and collections.
Eduard Panteleev, co-founder and CEO of ANNA Money, said late payments were particularly damaging for sole traders and microbusinesses.
“Payment delays cause lost productivity, a disruption to vital cash flow and create enormous stress on the country’s entrepreneurs who are already battling rising costs, tax changes and growing administrative pressures,” he said.
Cyber resilience becomes a business infrastructure issue
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will expand the UK’s cyber framework, bringing many managed IT companies and data centres into scope. The Government says organisations covered by the regime will need to report a wider range of harmful cyber incidents to regulators and the National Cyber Security Centre within 24 hours, with a full report within 72 hours.
For fintech firms and financial institutions, the measure is likely to raise questions around third-party technology providers, operational resilience and incident reporting.
Nick Henderson-Mayo, head of compliance at VinciWorks, said the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill was “probably the most important” compliance measure for many businesses in the King’s Speech.
“It will expand the UK’s cyber framework, bring more managed IT providers and data centres into scope, and introduce tougher incident reporting expectations,” he said.
Sheila Pancholi, partner and national technology risk assurance lead at RSM UK, said cyber risk was increasingly becoming a financial exposure as well as a security issue.
“The upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will bring in fines of up to £17 million or 4% of global turnover, with strict 24 and 72-hour reporting requirements, increasing pressure on businesses to tighten up cyber security and reporting procedures,” she said.
A fintech agenda built around infrastructure
The King’s Speech did not set out a standalone fintech bill. Instead, its fintech relevance sits across several pieces of proposed legislation: financial services reform, payments oversight, digital ID, cyber resilience, late payments and regulatory sandboxes.
The Regulating for Growth Bill may also matter for fintech and emerging technology firms. The Government says it will create cross-economy sandbox powers to allow controlled testing of new products and technologies, with existing rules temporarily relaxed under safeguards.
For UK fintech, the central question will be how quickly these proposals move from legislative intent to practical implementation. Industry reaction so far suggests broad support for simpler regulation, better identity infrastructure and stronger fraud prevention, but also concern that reform must preserve specialist expertise and deliver tangible improvements for firms and consumers.
As Charles Buckworth, partner and head of fintech at RPC, put it: “Sensible changes to reduce regulatory burden are much needed… Nevertheless, it is difficult to avoid the question of whether the government is truly rising to the challenge of offering full-throated support to a sector that will be central to driving investment, innovation, and long-term economic growth in the UK.”
