Adyen has been appointed as the payment services provider for non-Crown card payments and pay-by-bank services on GOV.UK Pay, in a move covering about 1,000 public sector services.
Services across local authorities, the armed forces and police will transition from Stripe to Adyen for payment processing on the government’s online payments platform. GOV.UK Pay, run by the Government Digital Service, is used by public bodies to take online payments for a wide range of services.
Since launching in 2016, GOV.UK Pay has processed more than £9 billion across more than 135 million transactions in central and local government services. More than 1,700 services use the platform across over 600 organisations, including parts of the NHS, the armed forces and the police.
The contract follows a competitive procurement process. It covers non-Crown card payments and adds pay-by-bank services as the Government Digital Service continues to update how public sector organisations collect money online.
About 1,000 services are expected to be added to Adyen’s platform in phases. GOV.UK Pay will manage the migration directly with service teams while retaining responsibility for supplier relationships, compliance, and the technical infrastructure that supports the services.
The transition is expected to take place without disruption or loss of functionality for users making payments online. Organisations using the system include councils that take payments for bills and fees, as well as bodies that handle fines and purchases linked to public services.
Platform shift
The change replaces Stripe as the payment processing provider for the affected services. For government departments and agencies using GOV.UK Pay forms part of a broader effort to introduce additional payment methods and respond to changing user preferences.
The Government Digital Service built GOV.UK Pay to give public sector organisations a shared way to accept digital payments, rather than requiring each body to maintain separate arrangements. The model has been promoted as a way to reduce administrative complexity and avoid duplication across government.
Adyen is best known for handling payments for large multinational companies, including Meta, Uber, H&M, eBay, and Microsoft. It’s a selection for GOV.UK Pay places it within the core of the government’s digital payments infrastructure for services outside Crown payments.
Nicole Olbe, UK&I Managing Director at Adyen, commented on the “agreement.
“Public sector organisations are under growing pressure to deliver seamless digital experiences while maintaining trust, resilience and efficiency, which is why we are proud to partner with GOV.UK Pay,” said Nicole Olbe, UK&I Managing Director at Adyen.
“When citizens engage with public services to cover bills, pay fines or buy essential items, they need the process to be reliable and straightforward. We’re committed to helping modernise payments across the public sector and deliver user-friendly experiences at scale,” Olbe said.
