Bank bosses plan UK alternative to Mastercard and Visa amid fears Donald Trump could 'switch off' YOUR cards

BRITISH bank bosses are drawing up plans for a homegrown payments network to rival US giants Visa and Mastercard. It comes as a vital move to ensure the UK economy isn’t held to ransom by geopolitical shifts or “switched off” by foreign powers for political reasons. Advertisement Barclays UK boss Vim Maru is chaired a meeting on Tuesday.

Senior leaders from big banks such as Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide and Santander met to talk about how to pay for and operate a new company, called “DeliveryCo”. Its job would be to keep card payments running if current systems go down, and to encourage more competition. One banking executive said: “If Mastercard and Visa were turned off, it would send us back to the 1950.

Of course, we need a sovereign payments system.” Currently, Visa and Mastercard dominate the UK, handling roughly 95% of all card transactions. Experts warn if these systems went down the UK would be “sent back to the 1950s” — leaving millions unable to buy food or access cash. Similar disruptions occurred in Russia, where US sanctions left ordinary citizens stranded.

While the UK version is expected to be ready by 2030, European leaders are already moving faster, with Wero — a digital wallet — recently launched in July 2024 by the European Payments Initiative. Advertisement Bank of England’s Sarah Breeden recently highlighted that this next-gen tech will act as a complement to existing cards, providing a backup for the rare occasions when current systems suffer operational meltdowns.

Both Visa and Mastercard say they welcome the competition and remain committed to the UK market. Profits Inn good state HOLIDAY Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group has revealed stronger sales and profits after opening a record 443 hotels over the past year. The FTSE 100 group said the improved performance came despite “some turbulent trading conditions” in 2025.

The firm, which also runs the Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo brands, revealed that total revenue grew by 5 per cent to £3.8billion in 2025 as 65,000 more rooms were added to its estate. Advertisement Meanwhile, operating profits rose 15 per cent to £880million for the year.