Payments Safeguarding & Conduct Register
Know the institution. Understand the safeguarding. Trace the evidence.
PSCR is the developing RMCA programme for payment institutions and related providers. It is building evidence and public-record infrastructure around exact legal-entity identity, permissions, service perimeter, safeguarding arrangements, complaints and institutional evidence.
PSCR is voluntary and non-statutory. It does not replace a regulator, contractual disclosure, safeguarding audit, statutory complaint route or independent professional advice.
Before relying on a payment service
Four questions should remain visible.
Which institution?
Identify the exact legal entity, official identifier, jurisdiction and institution category.
Which permission?
Identify the relevant permission, services, territories, agents and distributors.
Which safeguarding arrangement?
Identify the requirement, method, scope, evidence date and exclusions.
Which return route?
Identify reconciliation, resolution readiness, complaint routes and the intended return-of-funds process.
Illustrative record anatomy — not a live institution profile
Safeguarding Passport anatomy.
A proposed field-level view of identity, requirement, method, evidence cycle and return route. Public scope stays visible while sensitive information remains controlled.
Public guidance
Safeguarding explained without shorthand.
Safeguarding and deposit protection are different questions
Safeguarding concerns how certain customer funds are identified and handled. Deposit protection concerns eligibility under a separate statutory compensation arrangement.
02Relevant funds, segregation and the scope of safeguarding
The phrase “customer funds” can conceal important differences between activities, timing, entities and legal character.
03How to identify the legal entity and permission behind a payment service
A brand, app, agent, merchant and authorised institution can occupy different positions in the same customer journey.
04What to examine when a payment institution fails
Failure turns safeguarding from a policy description into a records, access, communication and return-of-funds question.
RCEF — Payments Safeguarding Module
A common evidence architecture, translated into payments and safeguarding questions.
The developing RMCA Conduct Evidence Framework applies to entity identity, governance, customer categories, relevant funds, safeguarding, communications, settlement, complaints, resilience and change-controlled evidence. It creates no licence, rating or halo score.
Entity, perimeter and licence identity
Exact EMI, PI, bank or related entity, official identifiers, permissions, agents, distributors and service perimeter.
Governance, accountability and conduct culture
Safeguarding oversight, senior accountability, audit, complaint ownership and operational governance.
Client classification, distribution and access
Customer categories, merchant sectors, channels, territorial access and agent governance.
Customer funds, safeguarding and protection
Relevant funds, applicable requirement, safeguarding method, insurance or guarantee where relevant, and return-of-funds route.
AML/CFT, sanctions and KYB
Customer or merchant KYB, transaction monitoring, agents, corridors, sanctions and suspicious-flow controls.
Marketing, communications and intermediaries
Permission, FSCS or safeguarding claims, service scope, customer-fund wording, agents and introducers.
Payments, withdrawals and transaction integrity
Receipt allocation, reconciliation, settlement, reserves, refunds, freezes and processing incidents.
Complaints, cooperation and remediation
Internal handling, eligible external route, root cause, cooperation and remediation evidence.
Outsourcing, technology, data and resilience
Processors, safeguarding banks, cloud services, outsourcing, incidents, continuity and resolution readiness.
Evidence file, annual narrative and change control
Dated evidence, audit material, returns, bank changes, expiry, material events and historical status.
For institutions
Preparing institutional evidence before the Register opens.
Payment institutions and counterparties can begin by organising exact entity, permission, safeguarding, reconciliation, complaint and resolution evidence. Preparation does not guarantee programme admission, bank onboarding or market access.
PSCR Register
A programme-specific view of one governed institution record.
Future PSCR records are intended to connect to one exact RMCA entity identity and canonical change history while keeping PSCR scope separate from FDRC or any commercial relationship.
exact entity identity and canonical history
permissions, safeguarding, complaints and institutional evidence
FDRC records remain separately scoped; no status transfer.
Safeguarding evidence
Describe requirement, method, scope and date — not a badge.
Exact institution and service perimeter
Customer and territorial scope
Relevant funds and applicable requirement
Safeguarding method
Reconciliation and operational evidence
Resolution or return-of-funds route
Review date, expiry and material-change history
Institutional access without halo
Useful because scope stays visible.
Consumers
Identify the provider, permission, safeguarding statement and complaint route.
Payment institutions
Maintain dated, scope-specific evidence and public explanations.
Institutional users
Review identity, safeguarding and operational dependencies without relying on a badge.
Researchers and advisers
Distinguish current scope, historic change and public-source limits.
Maintenance ledger
Publishing in stages.
PSCR principal website
Interim public edition live.
Programme architecture
In development and publication preparation.
RCEF Payments Safeguarding Module
Working framework in development.
PSCR Register
In maintenance; no live records.
Safeguarding evidence record
Method and field design in development.
Institutional-access services
Not open.
RMCA Public Register integration
Architecture and controls in development.
register.pscr.org.uk
Reserved as the programme register entry alias.
During this period, the absence of a listing, profile, relationship or status must not be treated as evidence for or against an institution, service, safeguarding arrangement or programme relationship.
Voluntary and non-statutory.
PSCR does not regulate firms, grant licences, approve or certify providers, rank institutions, guarantee safeguarding effectiveness or return of funds, determine statutory rights, provide legal or investment advice, or operate a compensation scheme. PSCR materials do not replace checks with the relevant regulator, contractual documentation, an eligible statutory complaint route, independent safeguarding assurance or professional advice.