Strategic Review of Innovation in the Payments System: Summary of Consultation – February 2012 1. Introduction

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The Reserve Bank began formal consultation for the Strategic Review of Innovation in late June 2011 with the publication of two documents – Strategic Review of Innovation in the Payments System: Issues for Consultation (the consultation paper) and Strategic Review of Innovation in the Payments System: Results of the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2010 Consumer Payments Use Study.The former provided a broad-ranging discussion of aspects of innovation in the payments system and set out 51 questions for discussion. The latter paper presented updated consumer survey data demonstrating how consumer payment patterns have evolved over the past three years.

The Bank received 35 written responses to the consultation paper and met with 20 of those making submissions. While many submissions came from parties with which the Bank frequently engages on payments matters, there were also a number of submissions from parties it deals with less often, including some associated with emerging payment channels, the superannuation industry and some payments infrastructure providers. There were a small number of submissions from users of retail payments, while CHOICE also made a submission.

This paper summarises the key themes emerging from consultation. It has been prepared as background for a round table discussion of innovation hosted by the Reserve Bank on 16 February 2012 and attended by members of the Payments System Board (PSB).^[1] Perhaps the critical and most difficult themes addressed during the consultation have been industry governance and architecture. Governance is discussed in the next section, followed by cheques and cash in Section 3, gaps in the payments system in Section 4 and architecture in Section 5.

Footnote

Other attendees are largely those who made submissions in response to the Bank's June 2011 consultation document. [1]