There are now almost 10,000 fewer finance businesses in the UK compared to 2020, a new report from the Payments Group has revealed.

Figures showed that the number of UK finance businesses peaked in 2020, at 88,875, and has since shrunk quickly having seen a net loss of 9,835 between 2020 and 2024, equating to an 11% decrease.

The Payments Group, a German-based European payments business, has published a new report titled Beyond peak finance, which suggested that the post-COVID UK finance sector is in freefall.

Its data, based on labour market figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), indicated that while the number of banks has decreased since 2020, this is a long-term trend that predates Brexit and the pandemic.

The Payments Group said the decline of high street banks has contributed to the finance industry’s contraction in the UK, but it is not responsible for it – with technology also making some legacy finance industries obsolete.

“The simple truth is that the UK finance industry is declining and there are numerous underlying conditions beyond Brexit, the pandemic and economic recession,” CEO of the Payments Group, Jens Bader, said.

“The Government needs to act to ensure that one of the UK’s strongest sectors does not continue to decline. We cannot allow American card giants and tech brands to run roughshod over UK financial institutions, retailers, and consumers as they are doing today. The impact of an even weaker and even smaller UK finance sector would ripple throughout the entire UK economy.”

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