Retail Payment Systems
In the OIC Member Countries
99
6. POLICY IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Retail payment systems are intricate multi-ecosystem. For national, regional, and international
policy makers, consumer, public sector, and market issues need to be addressed that take into
account the different levels of development of retail payment systems in the OIC Member
States. When it comes to retail payment systems, no two countries start from the same point.
As can be seen from the case studies, some countries have retail payment systems that
emerged out of longstanding banking and finance frameworks. Others are dominated by
forces and preferences that emphasise infrastructure, as where mobile network operators
initiate novel payment systems. Thus, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. Each member
country will view the recommendations offered here through their own lens when
determining their priorities. Some areas justify greater attention owing to the degree of
maturity of the existing financial services sector and the existing policy and regulatory
environment.
We divide the implications and recommendations into three categories: those that affect the
users of retail payment systems, the implications for the systems themselves with regard to
standards, architectures and controls, and the roles of authorities. We also address the
broader questions underlying retail payment systems development and reform, namely
reducing costs and risks, enhancing societal equity and advancing poverty alleviation.
6.1 Users
In most of the foregoing discussion the position of users has been eclipsed by the role of
financial institutions, facilitating organisations such as telecommunications network operators,
and the actions of states. However, the users of systems, both shoppers and retailers, stand at
the forefront of the system. Yet any operating system relies entirely upon their willingness to
use the technologies and their capabilities to operate it effectively.
Willingness is dependent upon two main factors: 1) the ease, familiarity, and acceptability of
the system, and 2) the incentives to become engaged in relation to the direct costs. The first of
these is most closely related to the societal experience with personal banking and relations
with retailers because that will determine how readily the public will understand where their
advantage lies. It will also affect what capabilities social groups have with regard to personal
finance, and so both their ability to adjust and benefit from new systems, and their perception
of what is acceptable. The second concerns the perceived benefits in comparison with costs
that may be direct, as with the purchase of cards, phones and associated services, or switching