What happened
- Specific facts/numbers: The UK government plans to give the Bank of England a new legal “secondary objective” to support innovation in payment systems and digital money such as stablecoins, while financial stability remains its primary objective; the measure is due to be written into a bill expected before the House of Lords in September.
- Institutions involved: HM Treasury is proposing the change for the Bank of England, which oversees systemic payment systems and is separately developing the UK regime for systemic stablecoins.
- Regulatory/technical context: The mandate would apply to oversight of systemic payment systems, including digital settlement assets such as stablecoins. It fits alongside the Bank’s broader work on innovation in money and payments and its 2026 policy statement and draft rules for systemic stablecoin issuers.
- What to watch next: Watch for the bill’s introduction in the Lords and the exact statutory wording of the Bank’s new objective; beyond that, no further milestone was identified in the read material.
Why it matters
A formal innovation objective could make UK payments regulation more accommodating to stablecoins and other digital-money models without displacing the Bank of England’s financial-stability mandate.
HKMA Relevance
Indirect: The UK’s approach to systemic stablecoins and payment-system innovation may influence international regulatory benchmarks relevant to Hong Kong’s own digital money and stablecoin oversight.