It was always intended at the time of the initial reforms that they would be subject to periodic review. The Board conducted the first such review in 2007/08. That review concluded that the reforms had improved the efficiency of card payment systems in some important respects: they had improved access, increased transparency and led to more appropriate price signals to consumers.
This reflects the fact that, at that time, disinflation was very abrupt with inflation rates expected to quickly revert back into positive territory. The current episode is characterised by a prolonged downward inflation trend, and we expect inflation to remain in negative territory until latter stages of this year.