Speeches by Dean.

“In Europe they have started to tackle this problem by allowing other operators to get into the wallet functions on people’s phones.”

“This a final question on the tech side of things. I have also heard complaints about the likes of Apple and Google blocking access to wallets and that sort of near-field communication. Is that a hurdle that needs to be overcome as well?”

“The regulatory hurdles are being cleared. You are finding ways to get consumers used to the technology by doing things like paying HMRC bills and so on. The technology seems to be there. What else is holding it up? I will be direct. I heard from people at a roundtable that I was at recently that they think some of the …”

“Yes, it is encouraging. There has definitely been rapid growth, but it is coming from quite a low base. Is it realistic that open banking is ever going to be able to compete with Visa and Mastercard? If so, what obstacles need to be overcome to get there?”

“Can we talk about the competition with open banking, which you have already alluded to? The last time that we spoke I quoted the figure that something like 5% of payments were going through it. I know it has gone through quite significant growth. Do you know what the figure is now? What proportion of payments are done …”

“You would not need any legislative change to allow you to have more fining powers. You are satisfied with the powers that you have. That is the question that I am getting to.”

“Is your stick big enough? That is my question, really. It is nice that you have built a good relationship with them, but there will be executives at the top of that business who will care only about the bottom line. They do not face any market pressure. We are not going to shut them down because it would shut down ever…”

“Is that a sufficient deterrent? If I am being cynical, they might bake in any potential fines you might apply in the future as a cost of doing business. They are going to litigate; they are going to drag this out; and the revenue that they generate in the interim position before you get to your determination versus the…”

“We have spoken in the past about the difficulty of getting Mastercard and Visa to co-operate with your investigations. They were not providing you with full evidence and so on. What gives you confidence they are going to comply with your latest directives?”

“I agree wholeheartedly with the comments of the shadow Leader of the House about Jeffrey Epstein and his relationship to Peter Mandelson. I do not intend to repeat those words, but as the political discussion intensifies in the coming days, we must not forget the victims, who are at the centre of all this, and their br…”

“Ms Williams, we touched a little on how opaque the pricing system can be and fears that AI might exacerbate this. Can you expand on that point? What protection do you think we are going to need in place as these new technologies emerge?”

“On that point, industry would say that they suffer cost, potential non-payment and so on. How would we get around that issue or is it disproportionate in the first place?”

“It relates to a point we were speaking about earlier, Mr McAteer. You talked about risk profiling models. When I was looking at the section on insurance, it talks about surveys, signposting and working groups. It all seemed to be focused on improving consumer understanding. I guess you would posit that that is not the …”

“Who was that?”

“Here is your chance.”

“We are going to get more into the risk profiling a little bit later. Ms Williams, Mr McAteer said that there is nothing in the strategy that the industry would not like. You have also said that you do not think voluntary commitments alone will be enough. What would you have liked to see in there?”

“Mr McAteer, you have talked about how the strategy is working with the market, rather than fixing the broken market itself. I do not know if you care to expand on that and also cover my point about scope.”

“If I can clarify, do you think it is too focused on very short-lived interventions, rather than looking at people’s overall life cycle? Is that what you are saying?”

“I wonder if I could get from each of you the strengths of the overall strategy and a little bit about the scope. Do you think anything is missing from the scope? I know they have set out the six pillars.”

“I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller), not only for securing this debate but for the clarity with which she articulated the case for transport improvements across different modes, including both infrastructure and operational improvements. I will focus on one particular infrastructure iss…”