Page 31 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Interoperability

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Interoperability

Annex 1: The World Bank’s Guidelines for Developing a Comprehensive Strategy
for Reforming Retail Payments

The World Bank Payment Systems Development Group (PSDG) has developed a strategy for reforming retail
payments systems, which contains a number of recommendations for the modernization of the RPS. The
framework builds on the following set of public policy objectives:
• Ensure the overall safety and efficiency of the national payment system

• Promote affordability and ease of access to payment services;
• Promote development of efficient infrastructure to support development of payment instruments and
mechanisms to meet retail payment needs; and,
• Promote socially optimal usage of payment instruments.
To achieve these public policy objectives, the World Bank has formulated the following guidelines:

Guideline I: The market for retail payments should be transparent, have adequate protection of payers and
payees interests, and be cost-effective.
Guideline II: Retail payments require reliable underlying financial, communications, and other types of
infrastructure; these infrastructures should be put in place to increase the efficiency of retail payments. These
infrastructures include an inter-bank electronic funds transfer system, an inter-bank card payment platform,
credit reporting platforms, data sharing platforms, large value inter-bank gross settlement systems, availability
of robust communications infrastructure, and also a national identification infrastructure.
Guideline III: Retail payments should be supported by a sound, predictable, non-discriminatory, and
proportionate legal and regulatory framework.

Guideline IV: Competitive market conditions should be fostered in the retail payments industry, with an
appropriate balance between co-operation and competition to foster, among other things, the proper level
of interoperability in the retail payment infrastructure.

Guideline V: Retail payments should be supported by appropriate governance and risk management practices.

Guideline VI: Public authorities should exercise effective oversight over the retail payments market and
consider proactive interventions where appropriate.

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