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Retail payment systems are used for the bulk of mostly low-value payments to and from individuals, and between individuals, companies and public authorities.
Although most of them may not be ‘systemically important’, they contribute to both the stability and efficiency of the financial system as a whole and citizens’ confidence in the euro.
In recognition of the importance of retail payment systems, the Eurosystem introduced “Oversight standards for euro retail payment systems” in June 2003. These standards distinguish between payment systems of systemic importance and those of prominent importance, and others. They also specify which of the Core Principles are of relevance for prominently important retail payment systems.
The retail standards provide indicators for the classification of retail payment systems into three categories:
The Eurosystem is currently reviewing the oversight standards for euro retail payment systems in order to update oversight requirements and to adapt the classification of the retail payment systems to the SEPA environment.
The Eurosystem has assessed the systemically and prominently important euro retail payment systems against the applicable Core Principles. Oversight responsibilities are entrusted to the national central bank of the country where the system is legally incorporated. In the case of EBA CLEARING’s STEP2 system, which facilitates retail payments throughout the euro area (and beyond), the assessment was made by the ECB.
The Eurosystem’s oversight also covers retail payment systems, which typically process payments on behalf of bank customers, such as individuals, companies and public authorities.
The Eurosystem classifies the systems into the following categories:
