Caleb M Fundanga: Advanced payment system oversight and management
Opening remarks by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the
Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI)
workshop on Advanced Payment System Oversight and Management, Lusaka, 12 July 2010.
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The Director - Financial Sector Management at MEFMI
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Representatives from MEFMI Secretariat
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Distinguished Resource Persons
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Dear participants
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Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my pleasure and honor to be here today to officiate at this important regional workshop
on Advanced Payment System Oversight and Management organized by the Financial
Sector Management Programme of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute
of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI).
allow me to begin by expressing my gratitude to MEFMI, for having
Ladies and Gentlemen,
organized this workshop that has brought together officials from the regional central banks
and ministries of finance and economic planning to address and brainstorm on important
aspects concerning regulation and supervision of the payment systems.
I warmly welcome you all to Zambia and in particular to the City of Lusaka. In particular, I
would like to welcome and thank our distinguished resource persons, some of whom are
here present and others still to join us during the week. We thank you for accepting
invitations to join us for this workshop and hope that your participation will enrich the
deliberations of this workshop as well as the knowledge of the participants.
I am aware that the quest to hold this workshop was driven by the deep conviction that a well
developed and regulated payment system plays an important role in enhancing and
promoting soundness in the financial system and is a catalyst for creating efficient
transmission of monetary value in the economy. A well functioning and developed payment
system is an essential requirement for the development of a market economy and deep
financial markets.
Equally important is its role in the enhancement of the conduct and transmission of monetary
policy. Conversely, inefficient payment system operations can be a channel for causing
distortions in the economy through inordinate delays in the monetary policy implementation
and in settlement of financial transactions. This will invariably prevent the central bank from
achieving its objectives of price stability and a sound financial sector.
The MEFMI region still faces a lot of challenges with respect to the development and
oversight of payment systems. Notable among these are:
1. Regulation of non-bank payment system providers such as mobile phone
companies;
2. Regulation of innovative payment system products;
3. Ensuring the law contributes to payment system developments and operations;
4. Ensuring full utilisation of large value payment system by all stakeholders including
the Government;
5. Enhancing and retaining skills in oversight of payment systems;
6. Ensuring effective cooperation between different regulatory authorities in the
regulation of payment systems;
7. Maintaining and enhancing market competition and cooperation in the development
and operation of payment systems; and
8. Ensuring consumer protection in payment system services.
I am glad that this workshop is going to address these key issues and challenges with
respect to the above and I am confident that the rich discussions you are going to hold and
the lessons of experience you are going to share will not only enhance your skills but also
bring out pertinent issues that require to be addressed when you go back to your home
countries.
Ladies and Gentlemen; let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the
NorthWest University, South Africa, the South African Reserve Bank and the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe for releasing their officials to share with us their knowledge and experience at this
workshop.
To all of you, I wish you the best and I encourage you to participate actively during the
presentations and discussions. Use every opportunity to tap from the vast experiences of the
resource persons during these five days.
Last but not least, I wish to thank the MEFMI Secretariat for organising this important
workshop and for choosing Zambia as the venue.
With these remarks, I declare this workshop officially open.
Ladies and Gentlemen,