someone paying by card and another person holding a mobile phone displaying a QR code

30 March 2026

Polar Moment’s Payments Perspective: March 2026

March’s Payments Perspective covers Pay360 London insights, the UK’s new Online Crime Centre to tackle fraud, and Revolut securing a full UK banking licence.

John Rozek and Bhav Patel at Pay360

Pay360 London

Polar Moment director, John Rozek attended Pay360 London 2026, one of the UK’s key events for the payments industry.

John met with partners, clients, and industry peers to discuss the latest trends across retail payments, fraud prevention, and infrastructure.

John says it’s exciting to see how quickly the industry is evolving and the opportunities ahead. It’s aways a pleasure to reconnect with friends and colleagues. I’m already looking forward to what’s next!


image showing security posture of a system

UK Government Launches Online Crime Centre

The UK government has announced a new online crime centre as part of its broader fraud strategy, aimed at improving how digital and financial crime is detected and tackled.

The initiative is designed to bring together intelligence, technology, and law enforcement capabilities in one place, helping to better coordinate the response to increasingly sophisticated online fraud.

For payments firms, this reinforces the direction of travel. Fraud prevention is no longer just a PSP or bank responsibility, but part of a wider ecosystem effort.

Find out more here: UK government launches online crime centre in new fraud strategy (opens in a new tab).


A mobile phone displaying the Revolut name

Revolut Granted Full UK Banking Licence

After previous delays highlighted in our October newsletter, Revolut has been granted a full UK banking licence by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority.

This marks a significant milestone for the fintech, which has spent years operating in the UK without full banking status. A full licence allows Revolut to expand further into lending and deposit products, strengthening its position as a full-service financial provider rather than just a payments and FX platform.

Find out more here: Revolut secures full UK banking license (opens in a new tab).


Skyline of the city of London

FCA Confirms New Incident and Third-Party Reporting Rules

The FCA has confirmed new rules requiring firms to report on both operational incidents, and reliance on third-party providers from March 2027.

The aim is to give the regulator clearer visibility when things go wrong. Firms will need to follow more structured reporting requirements, including when to report, what to include, and how incidents are assessed.

A key focus is third-party risk. As more payment providers and financial institutions rely on cloud services and external technology partners, the FCA wants better insight into where dependencies sit and how they could impact the wider system.

Find out more here: FCA confirms new incident and third-party reporting rules from March 2027 (opens in a new tab).