Another important influence on merchant payment costs is the mix of payments they accept. There are large differences in the cost of different cards, so the mix can matter a lot. Over the past decade, there has been a shift away from high-cost credit cards to lower-cost debit cards, which has tended to lower merchant costs (Graph 2).
On the African continent, more needs to be done to strengthen the African Union. Quite a number of countries do not pay their dues, resulting in the organisation being overly dependent on donors. While donations are always welcome, it cannot be right for an important continental body to be so reliant on foreign funding.