Senior UK banking figures will meet this week to begin creating a domestic card-payments system to rival Visa and Mastercard.
The project aims to protect the economy if access to US-owned networks is disrupted.
The talks will be chaired by Vim Maru of Barclays and funded by major City institutions.
The government supports the plan, which has been discussed for years but gained urgency after geopolitical tensions involving Donald Trump.
About 95% of UK card payments run through Visa or Mastercard.
Executives warn that losing those systems would push the country back toward a cash-based economy.
Sanctions that cut off the same networks in Russia showed how quickly consumers can lose access to money.
The new company, known as DeliveryCo, will design the structure and funding model for a sovereign system.
The Bank of England is preparing the technical blueprint.
The alternative payment rail could be operating by 2030.
Major lenders including Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest and Santander UK are involved, alongside the ATM network Link.
Visa and Mastercard are also participating and say they welcome competition.
Officials frame the move as a resilience measure rather than a political response.
They argue a domestic system would provide backup during cyber incidents or operational failures.
