MNI BRIEF: New Payments To Cut Merchant Costs - BOE Breeden

Alternative payment methods, such as direct bank-to-bank transactions, could drive transaction costs down for retailers, and give consumers greater options outside of current 'card schemes', Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said on Monday.

"Competition from an extra payment option could bring these costs down," she said in a speech at the City & Financial Payments Regulation and Innovation Summit, noting that the average cost to UK merchants from card payments is 0.6% of the transaction value.

The Bank intends its "new infrastructure" to facilitate payments using tokenised money, such as stablecoins, as well as traditional forms of money, she added. "Greater competition from a wider variety of technology and business models should drive lower costs and greater functionality for users."  (see MNI BRIEF: UK Banks Well Capitalized BOE Stress Tests Show  )