Payments are going through substantial changes in the recent period. Constant innovations in the field are compelling experts to follow and regularly refresh their knowledge on the topic. While many of the innovations are market-driven, the rules and landscape of payments have also changed in the European area due to integration and unification of rules within the Eurosystem, which have been reshaping the national payment practice and regulations, having an impact on firms, consumers, governments, and other financial authorities.

Since 2007 the CEF has been successfully cooperating with the Dutch Central Bank in delivery of learning events on payment and securities settlement systems. In the past there was one workshop covering the broad area, yet it was soon clear that a division into two separate workshops would be more suitable. Therefore we have been organizing a workshop on Retail Payments and one on Wholesale Payments and Securities Settlement Systems.

According to the lecturers of Retail Payments - Michiel van Doeveren and Judith Looman, “the workshops have evolved more and more from bringing knowledge towards knowledge sharing. Giving an overview of relevant changes in infrastructure and developments within e.g. the Eurosystem is essential. Moreover, we take into account the needs of the participating countries. We see that the SEE region, for example, regarding retail payments, can implement new payment products quicker because sometimes they do not have a certain payment product in place yet or not on a large scale basis. That gives them the opportunity to directly implement an innovative system or payment product.”

As the workshop aims to give floor for discussions, it is very encouraging to see diversity of countries the participants are coming from. The lecturers see some countries more ahead regarding innovative payment products, and see that as an opportunity to learn from them. Michel van Doeveren: "I appreciate very much all discussions with experts from other countries to inspire each other about current trends and developments in retail payments. The payments landscape is changing rapidly".

From a retail payments perspective, the lecturers see participants as “very much interested in how to stimulate efficient payment behavior, and how the National Forum on the Payment Systems works and what the benefits are.”

The learning events have a potential for meeting new people. The lecturers declared having expanded their contacts with other central banks and governmental bodies in other countries. Furthermore, they have been contacted for other learning and technical support, e.g. in Ukraine and Macedonia.

During the workshops the participants visit Bank of Slovenia and the Payment Systems department, where they present them their operations and Slovene experience. Last year participants expressed they appreciated the shared experience, especially on the implementation of the SEPA and TARGET2 systems. The lecturers also describe their experience with Bank of Slovenia, which is their partner institution within the Eurosystem, and the bank’s involvement in the learning events “very positive and stimulating”. “We think that due to the working visit to Banka Slovenije, the positions discussed during the presentations and the workshop interaction is stimulated in the group and therefore the course becomes very dynamic.”

With oversight of payment systems remaining one of the very fundamental functions of central banks, they strive to ensure its smooth functioning. This is not only as a function to preserve stability of the systems themselves, interruption of which could have a very negative effect on stability of financial institutions and markets, but is also regarded as a precondition to implementation of other policies.

At the CEF we agree with the lecturers we want to maintain our long-lasting fruitful cooperation with the Dutch Central Bank. The shared efforts to develop capacities of the region and offering a platform for exchange of knowledge and experience have been very successful. For this reason we are continuing with delivering of the two workshops on payment systems again this year.

We welcome you to join our future events:

Retail Payments (February 25-27, 2015) delivered by:

Wholesale Payments and Securities Settlement Systems (June 2015) delivered by:
- Jaap Mauritz, Senior Policy Advisor, Payment Systems Policy Department, De Nederlandsche Bank, The Netherlands
- Mieke Wennekes, Senior Overseer, Oversight Department, Cash and Payment Systems Division, De Nederlandsche Bank, The Netherlands