To get Britain growing, Labour must back payments technology and innovation

SPONSORED POST

Economic growth is not an abstract concept. It is, quite literally, life changing. And with the nation facing some of the most difficult economic challenges in generations, the importance of pursuing sustainable long-term growth, improving productivity and creating prosperity for all has never been stronger. 

We welcome Labour’s commitment to the UK achieving the highest sustained growth in the G7 by focusing on creating better opportunities for individuals and businesses. And we especially welcome the recognition that embracing technological change is part of the solution. 

We’d like to see this translate into policies that support digital payments innovation. This technology can help grow the UK economy sustainably, as well as create opportunities and prosperity for the people and businesses who need it most.   

Digital technology brings huge opportunities. Through innovation, we can help people build their skills to be part of tomorrow’s workforce, improve their life opportunities and resilience, boost businesses of all sizes, increase productivity, trade and exports, support the transition to net zero and make the UK more competitive and productive. 

At the same time, new technologies bring challenges. Some people may be unable to keep up with the pace of digitisation across key areas of their everyday lives, like paying their utility bills or having secure and easy access to welfare disbursements. And the skills people are currently developing in education or early careers may not be sufficient to secure good jobs or build a meaningful career in the future. 

Policy around technology needs to be not just about fostering innovation, but also about how we can ensure that innovation is inclusive.

The UK’s payments industry has been an engine of innovation for the past two decades, helping to keep everyday payments flowing and giving consumers more choice than ever, helping businesses grow and trade across borders securely, boosting trade and exports and enabling governments to distribute payments quickly and securely.

The UK has pioneered account-to-account faster payments, contactless and open banking. Home-grown fintechs are transforming finance, helping underserved groups, entrepreneurs and business owners, bringing them into the financial fold and helping them grow, as well as powering the shift to more conscious and sustainable consumption and supporting our transition to net zero. All these benefits, enabled across the country, can revitalise the UK economy. 

At Mastercard, we see first-hand how these innovations keep the UK economy moving and can support long-term growth. And so we’re calling on Labour to back the UK’s world-leading digital payments technology sector – and help it boost growth that creates opportunities and gives everyone a stake in the economy.

We’ve launched Get Britain Growing, a policy programme bringing in some of the UK’s most innovative businesses and thinkers. Algbra, CleverCards, Hi, The Financial Inclusion Commission and the RSA, have all provided their valuable insights for our first paper. 

Together, we have set out a range of recommendations for policymakers and regulators to consider. Firstly, the Financial Conduct Authority should formally ‘have regard’ to financial inclusion, just as it does to competitiveness. At the same time, policymakers should prioritise inclusion by setting up a National Financial Inclusion Strategy.  

We’d also like to see the public and private sector invest more in improving digital and financial literacy in tandem, with a focus on minority communities who don’t have as much access to literacy programmes as white communities.

The other side of the coin is creating the right regulatory framework for digital payments technology and innovation through a regulatory sandbox focused on innovation for excluded and underserved customers or by encouraging investment in emerging innovations.

We’ll be publishing a series of policy papers this year, looking at the specifics of how digital payments technology and innovation can truly Get Britain Growing – because, although the challenge is huge, so are the opportunities to create long-term prosperity and give individuals and businesses a real in the economy.