HIGHLIGHTS ¦ DEMSA Newsletter

What you need to know this week

MaPS SFS governance: implementation remains on track for the first Monday in April 2026, signalling operational change for how Standard Financial Statement inputs may be applied across advice and collections.
Government debt strategy: cross-sector work continues into 2026, with implications for public-sector recovery approaches and private-sector collaboration.
Bank of England decision: Bank Rate reduced to 3.75% on 18/12/2025 following a 5–4 MPC vote, affecting affordability dynamics, arrears risk, and collections segmentation.
Labour market softening: unemployment rose to 5.1% (three months to October 2025) alongside declines in payrolled employees, increasing risk of payment stress and higher inbound vulnerability flags.
BNPL/DPC regulation timetable: FCA regulation for Deferred Payment Credit is positioned to go live on 15/07/2026, requiring operational readiness across affordability, disclosures, complaints and Consumer Duty alignment.
Contactless rules change: from March 2026, the £100 cap will be removed, shifting responsibility to firms to set limits under strong fraud controls and to offer customer-configurable controls.
MaPS debt advice impact (2024/25): outcome evidence continues to build, including material extra-income identification and high prevalence of deficit budgets among advised cohorts.
AI adoption in advice operations: use cases cited include AI-supported case recording and advice letter generation, indicating productivity and quality impacts that may influence operating models.
Open banking progress: FCA/PSR reporting highlights accelerating adoption and the increasing role of Variable Recurring Payments, relevant to time-to-pay and flexible repayment mechanisms.
FCA Mortgage Rule Review (FS25/6): roadmap signals a multi-year programme into 2027, including themes of access, later life lending, innovation and vulnerability protections.
Insolvency system change: Insolvency Service case management migration (from 01/11/2025) temporarily reduced processing volumes and created IVA registration backlogs, affecting market signals and forecasting.
Sector benchmarks: StepChange November 2025 metrics show continued digital-first demand and stable underlying client characteristics, supporting comparative performance assessment.