a) To encourage compliance with the international standards in the development of payment systems in Africa.

Transcription

1 CONTINENTAL SEMINAR OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN CENTRAL BANKS (AACB) ON THE THEME : «MOVING TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS IN PAYMENTS SYSTEM : THE AFRICAN EXPERIENCE». (Tunis, April 28-30, 2008) Draft report

2 2 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 At its 31 st ordinary meeting held on August 15, 2007 in Tripoli, Libya, the Assembly of Governors of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB) approved the organization in 2008 of a continental seminar on the subject Moving towards international standards in payment systems: the African experience. 1.2 In line with this decision, the seminar was held in Tunis, from 28 to 30 April Fifty (50) participants from twenty-nine (29) out of the forty (40) member central banks of the AACB attended. The representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the European Central Bank (ECB), the Banque de France (BDF), the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (ADB) and the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) were also present. 1.3 The list of participants is herewith attached. 1.4 The objectives of the seminar were: a) To encourage compliance with the international standards in the development of payment systems in Africa. b) To ensure that participants get a better understanding of the international standards widely used in the design, operation and oversight of payment systems. c) To assist in solving the difficulties encountered at the national level and in capacity building by various central banks. d) To discuss the mode of consultation, at the continental level, for the harmonization of the African payment systems. 2. OPENING CEREMONY a) Mr Habib Maalej, General Manager of Currency, Agencies and Payment Systems, representing Honourable Taoufik Baccar, Governor of the Banque Centrale de Tunisie presided over the opening session. b) Mr Samuel Meango, Executive Secretary, on behalf of the Chairman of the AACB, Honourable Farhat Bengdara, Governor of the Central Bank of Libya, welcomed the participants to the seminar and expressed his gratitude to the Honourable Governor of the Banque Centrale de Tunisie, for having accepted to host this important seminar and for all the efforts undertaken for its organization.

3 3 c) Mr Maalej welcomed the participants and read the speech of the Governor of the Banque Centrale de Tunisie. He underscored the fundamental role of central banks in the development of efficient payment systems to support the economic activity, by facilitating the settlement of transactions. He shared the Tunisian experience in reforming the payment systems. 3. THE PROCEEDING OF THE SEMINAR 3.1 On the first day, presentations on the international standards in the field of payment systems, and the experiences of the various central banks from different sub-regions of the continent were made. a) Mr Denis Beau, Head of the Committee of Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) Secretariat, the representative of the BIS, presented the following topics: Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems; Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems International Organisation of Securities Commissions (CPSS-IOSCO) recommendations for Securities Settlement Systems; Developments in E-Payments. b) Mr Massimo Cirasino, Head of Payment System Development Group of the World Bank, made a presentation on the Strategic Approach to Reforming Payments and Securities Settlement Systems. c) Central Banks representing the under-mentioned sub-regions shared their experiences : North Africa (Central Bank of Libya, Banque Centrale de Tunisie); West Africa (Banque Centrale des Etats de l Afrique de l Ouest (BCEAO), Bank of Ghana); East Africa (Bank of Mauritius, Bank of Uganda); Central Africa (Banque des Etats de l Afrique Centrale (BEAC), Banque Centrale du Congo); Southern Africa (Bank of Botswana, Bank of Zambia). 3.2 On the second day panel discussions were held on the following topics: a) Panel 1: Arrangements for the Legal and Organisational Integration of Payment Systems (Commission for the African Union, BEAC, Bank of Mauritius); b) Panel 2: Harmonisation of the Technical Infrastructures of Payment Systems in Africa, (Banque de France, Banque Nationale du Rwanda, Bank of Uganda);

4 4 c) Panel 3: The Right Approach to the Interlinking of African Payment Systems (European Central Bank, BCEAO, Banque d Algérie, Central Bank of Kenya). 3.3 The conclusions and recommendations of the seminar were presented and adopted on the third day. 4. OBSERVATIONS 4.1 The following observations were made: a) Significant progress has been made in the implementation of payment systems which are compliant with international standards. However, some countries are still at the initial stages of payment system reforms; b) There is predominance of cash based transactions; c) A small proportion of the population is banked, thus posing an impediment to the adoption of electronic payments; d) The operational reliability of the existing and future systems is very important; e) Reforming some aspects of the payment systems involves high cost investments; f) There is a need to meet certain prerequisites to integrate payment systems such as harmonisation of laws and regulations regarding cross border transactions. 5. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendations were adopted: a) Put in place appropriate laws and policies wherever possible, in order to improve the proportion of banked people in Africa by: making it a right to have a bank account; effecting salary, utilities and tax payments through the banking system; improving the electronic payment through appropriate infrastructure; b) Speed up the process of the payment systems harmonisation and interconnection in the various regions by following the existing models on a phased approach; c) Harmonise the laws and regulations of payment systems;

5 5 d) Set up a continental Payment Systems Expert Group drawn from the regional committees as per annexed proposal; e) Set up a system for collecting statistics on payment systems. The BCEAO, the Banque Centrale du Congo and the Banque Centrale de Tunisie will co-ordinate the activities. The World Bank has expressed his willingness to help in this project; f) Plan at least one annual meeting for evaluation of progress made on the reforms and for capacity building. 6. CONCLUSIONS 6.1 The seminar adopted these recommendations which will be submitted to the Governors for approval. 6.2 The participants suggest that the work documents be published on the AACB s website. At the end of the deliberations, the representative of the Bank of Sierra Leone read, on behalf of the participants, a vote of thanks to the attention of the Governor of the Banque Centrale de Tunisie, for his efforts to ensure the success of the seminar.