UK crypto businesses want the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to prioritise faster and safer payments as it drafts landmark regulation on digital assets, research reveals.
A Censuswide survey of 125 senior crypto leaders, commissioned by Equals Money, found that three in five want speed of transfer and anti-fraud initiatives to be top priorities (59 per cent) for the regulator. Nearly half (46 per cent) flag fraud as a major challenge, with two in five citing it as a direct blocker to innovation (42 per cent).
Almost all respondents (98 per cent) reported service disruption due to recent banking outages affecting customer or supplier payments: a third (36 per cent) reported direct revenue loss as a result.
“Pace and security are critical for the UK’s crypto sector” said Ian Campbell, Director of Solutions at Equals Money, the fast-growing B2B payments platform which recently combined with embedded finance specialist Railsr. “The FCA’s challenge is to enable compliant transfers, without slowing things down.”
B2B payment fintechs provide essential on-ramps and off-ramps to transfer money between traditional fiat currencies and the cryptocurrency market. Yet problems integrating with existing financial institutions (32 per cent) and legacy systems or infrastructure (30 per cent) remain for many.
“The FCA can address these issues by providing clear, simple guardrails” says Campbell. “It’s not a question of chasing crypto trends, but establishing a stable and secure framework for innovation.”
The industry is currently divided on the benefits and frustrations of regulation.
Half of UK sector leaders see regulation as an accelerator of innovation (50 per cent) and two in five agreed that it is essential to maintaining trust (44 per cent).
Yet around a third also say current regulation has slowed or halted payments innovation (32 per cent), see it as a high administrative burden (30 per cent), are struggling with regulatory complexity or uncertainty (30 per cent) or say that regulators lack understanding of industry needs (30 per cent).
“Navigating the rules can be frustrating for growing fintechs,” continues Campbell. “But with the flexibility provided by APIs and embedded finance, B2B payment providers can now manage licences, compliance and top tier banking integration on their behalf.”
Beyond use of digital currencies and blockchain, used by over half of respondents (58 per cent and 52 per cent), the research reveals that adoption of open banking (45 per cent) is gathering pace in the sector. A growing number of firms are also now using and AI analytics (37 per cent), stablecoins (32 per cent), APIs (31 per cent) and embedded finance (30 per cent).
“Open banking offers a big opportunity to combat fraud: if we can share more data across the industry, we’ll be able to identify risks before they become an issue for customers.” says Campbell. “Digital currencies, blockchain and stablecoin (covered in the draft regulation) all offer significant potential for more secure and stable FX transfers.”
He concludes: “By working closely with the regulator and established payments providers, this sector is uniquely placed to drive wider adoption of these technologies."
Research conducted by Censuswide (11.04.2025 - 15.04.2025): 500 Senior Decision Makers in the UK with technical knowledge in finance, aged 18+. Exact quotas of 125 on each of the following industry sectors: Cryptocurrency, Gambling / Gaming, Money Service Businesses.
On 2 May, the FCA published a discussion paper seeking views on the regulation of cryptoasset trading, lending, borrowing, staking and decentralised finance. The deadline for responses is 13 June.
Equals Money is a leading provider of multi-currency accounts, international payments, and business spending solutions. Focusing on helping businesses navigate global finance efficiently, Equals Money empowers companies with innovative financial products that streamline operations and enhance spending control. In April 2025, Equals combined with Railsr to create one of Europe’s largest embedded finance providers.
Sign up to our daily market reports to get the latest news and insights on worldwide currency movements straight to your inbox every morning.
Enter your email address below to subscribe.
