Listen Now: Synthesis and Benchmarking of Instant Payment Schemes Across 12 Jurisdictions

In this webinar, Shirley Mburu took us through the first public presentation of this study conducted by BFA Global on behalf of the Gates Foundation. The study synthesises and benchmarks instant payment schemes across 12 jurisdictions.

It aimed to answer three key questions:

1. WHAT are the effective policy levers for achieving interoperability success?  
2. WHEN should policymakers advocate for interoperability – from the beginning or let it evolve?  
3. HOW can interoperability be optimised for financial inclusion? 

The review of the twelve schemes looked at various indicators of their performance to review and assess their success and to determine the most effective approaches for optimising schemes to achieve financial inclusion goals. The schemes were reviewed from different angles, such as the level of interoperability, the performance of the schemes via volumes per capita, the view of stakeholders and effectiveness for users.

The study identified that the role of the regulator is key. Impose too early, and it can break the market; wait and allow for natural collaboration between payment service providers, which can lead to market dominance. The regulator needs to create a rhythm and balance its visionary and enforcer role.

We are also now beginning to see evidence that instant payment systems are increasing financial inclusion. However, it is not a given that instant and interoperable equals inclusion. To optimise interoperability for inclusion and bring low-income users to use digital payments, you need to think of them in the design of products and services, make them accessible (e.g., USSD), and make them affordable and implement use cases beyond P2P payments.

Keep an eye out for their blogs based on this study and the index coming out at the end of this month. Read more here: https://bfaglobal.com/insights/