Senior UK bank executives 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 meeting will be chaired by Vim Maru of Barclays.
City investors will fund the new company, known as DeliveryCo, with government backing.
The system could be operational by 2030.
About 95% of UK card payments currently run through Visa and Mastercard.
Executives warn that losing access would severely disrupt the economy as cash use declines.
Sanctions that shut the networks in Russia showed how quickly consumers can be cut off from funds.
Concerns have grown as geopolitical tensions rise.
However, UK officials frame the plan as a resilience measure rather than a direct response to US policy.
Sarah Breeden of the Bank of England said an extra payment rail would strengthen security during outages.
Major lenders including Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide and Santander UK are involved.
Visa and Mastercard are also participating and say they welcome competition.
Officials argue the UK needs a sovereign payments option regardless of politics.
The central bank will design the infrastructure before handing it to the industry to run.
