Public First has released a report showing that digital payments have enabled £88bn in additional sales for UK businesses between 2019 and 2025, and that billions more in growth depends on the regulatory choices government and regulators…
Public First has released a report showing that digital payments have enabled £88bn in additional sales for UK businesses between 2019 and 2025, and that billions more in growth depends on the regulatory choices government and regulators make over the next few years.
The report, titled "How Payments Can Power UK Growth", finds the digital payments sector contributed an estimated £7.5bn to UK GDP in 2024, equivalent to around £2,500 per business per year in additional sales across the period 2019-2025.
The analysis argues that the UK’s position is not guaranteed. As AI, stablecoins and account-to-account services begin to reshape the sector, whether the UK designs outcomes-focused, future-ready regulation will determine if it holds its lead or loses momentum to faster-moving competitors.
Quantified opportunities include:
- £3.8bn in additional GVA by 2030 from a pro-competition regulatory framework
- £5.1bn a year in additional GDP from 2030 through greater SME adoption of digital payments
- £4bn a year in additional economic activity from 2030 through faster AI adoption across the payments value chain
The report also finds that trust functions as an economic multiplier. 79% of businesses say secure payments are central to wider technology adoption, while an estimated 455,000 businesses may have paused adopting new digital technology because of fraud. For consumers, fraud is linked to £16bn in lost spending each year, with spending falling 35.1% in the six months following an incident.
Commissioned by Visa, the report sets out five steps for government and regulators:
- Deliver on the promise of the National Payments Vision with a clear, outcomes-focused framework
- Reduce duplicative regulation by consolidating the PSR into the FCA
- Adopt a pro-technology approach so AI and stablecoins can scale safely
The research draws on nationally representative surveys of 2,000 UK consumers and 500 UK businesses, two focus groups, and interviews with stakeholders across the payments sector including Which?, Nationwide, Sainsbury’s, Revolut, Worldpay and Asda.
Rob Cameron, Group Country Manager, UK & Ireland at Visa said:
“The UK has built one of the world’s most advanced digital payments economies, but the biggest opportunity is still ahead of us. Digital payments are the invisible infrastructure behind the UK economy, and that only works if people trust it completely. Trust is hard-won and easy to lose. Every fraud event costs momentum: consumers spend less, businesses hesitate to invest and digital transformation stalls. Get that balance right, and payments can be an even more powerful engine for growth.”
Neil Ross, Partner at Public First said:
“The UK has been a world leader on payments and payments technology, and our research points to real opportunities to further build on that success. There’s growing scope for industry, Government and regulators to work together, quickening the pace of innovation so the UK stays ahead as competition from emerging markets continues to grow.”
