Senior figures from the UK’s biggest banks will meet this week to begin creating a domestic card payments system.
The project aims to reduce reliance on the US networks Visa and Mastercard.
The talks will be chaired by Vim Maru of Barclays.
City investors will fund the new company, known as DeliveryCo, with government support.
Officials want a backup that keeps payments running during any disruption.
About 95% of UK card transactions currently use the two US systems.
Executives warn that losing them would severely damage the economy as cash use declines.
Sanctions in Russia, which cut off the same networks, showed how quickly consumers can lose access to money.
The initiative has been discussed for years but geopolitical tensions increased urgency.
The Bank of England is developing the technical blueprint for the new infrastructure.
The system could be operational by 2030.
Visa and Mastercard are involved in the project and say they welcome competition.
Major lenders including NatWest, Lloyds Banking Group and Santander UK are also participating.
Officials say the goal is resilience rather than replacing existing providers.
The plan reflects wider European concern about dependence on foreign payment networks.
