Norges Bank will actively pursue profitable solutions in the best interest of all the parties concerned. Payments should become faster Norway’s efficient payment system is a competitive advantage for the Norwegian business sector. This is positive, but there is no room for complacency. Other countries are catching up and may be ahead of us in some areas, in particular in terms of real time payments and the infrastructure for mobile payments. We have a job to do here. The Norwegian banking industry has collectively developed a payment solution where money is immediately received by the payee, so-called instant payments. A common system offers several advantages: The solution is cost-efficient and ensures fast payment services for customers. All banks and their customers can use the solution and it is not owned by an individual private market participant. Yet, to date, few banks offer instant payment services. This may be due to technical factors, or because mobile apps need to be more user-friendly. It may also be that the competition among participants to promote their own solutions is ultimately an obstacle to an overall efficient infrastructure. Competition is best pursued in the area of customer interface. In our neighbouring countries Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom, the situation is different. There has been broad cooperation in the area of instant payments in those countries. Banks have been engaged in developing common solutions – not only in the development phase, but also in the application phase. In all these countries, instant payments are widely used.
This is a price we have to pay to be able to exploit the benefits of the new technology. Existing payment solutions cannot be phased out until we are certain that they will be replaced by other solutions that satisfy customer needs and enjoy customer confidence. This is important in normal times, and not least in terms of crisis preparedness. That has a cost, but a situation where payments cannot be executed would entail a much greater cost to society. As such, there can be no compromise with regard to contingency requirements. Conclusion Norway has an efficient payment system. This is positive, but there is room for improvement. In some respects, other countries are now ahead of us, for example Denmark and Sweden, particularly in terms of instant payments. Payments should be faster than is the case today – both for end users and between banks. We must develop new infrastructure linked to instant payments and render payments faster through today’s infrastructure. Mobile payments can best be organised based on common underlying solutions. They should be cheaper and faster, and various apps must be able to communicate between banks and use the same shop payment terminal. Banks and the wider business sector do not have a choice in the long run. If the new solutions are to be viable over time, standards and common solutions for mobile payments must be developed. We may have started in this direction, but time is pressing. Common solutions and standards are not an obstacle to effective competition.