Derville Rowland: Launch of Ireland's National Payments Strategy
Remarks by Ms Derville Rowland, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, at
the Launch of the National Payments Strategy, Dublin, 15 October 2024.
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I would like to welcome the Minister for Finance - Minister Jack Chambers TD - and
everyone here today to the Central Bank's offices for the launch of the National
Payments Strategy. Let me also echo the Minister's thanks to all involved in the
development of the strategy.
In particular, I would like to thank the Department's Strategy Team for their
collaboration over the past 16 months, and for providing the Central Bank with the
opportunity to contribute to the development of the Strategy.
My thanks also to the members of the Central Bank's Payments Steering Group and the
internal expert group who has been supporting the our input into the Strategy.
Call for collaboration
The National Payments Strategy represents a significant milestone for the future
development of the Irish payments ecosystem. The Central Bank looks forward to
contributing to the successful realisation of the Strategy over the next 5 years and
beyond.
We see the Strategy as an opportunity to:
Ensure that the Irish market stays up-to-date with modern payment functionalities
and technologies;
Put in place initiatives that strengthen the security and resilience of retail
payments; and
To ensure that the Irish payments ecosystem remains interconnected with the rest
of the Europe.
As the Minister has referenced, the Strategy outlines a number of ambitious actions that
will lay the foundation for the future growth of the Irish payments ecosystem.
In terms of specific actions I would call out, I would highlight that:
the Strategy will require cooperation in the advancement of Pay-by-Account
solutions built upon the effective implementation of instant payments and Open
Banking; and
A role for the Central Bank around a Research and Insights Programme that we
will lead. Enhancing our research and analytical capabilities is critical to
understanding the direction and possible impacts of the future evolution of the
Irish payments ecosystem.
Fraud
Another area I will highlight and that relates to the issue of Fraud . This is an issue
which cuts right across the work of the Central Bank - from consumer protection, to our
work in payments and to our financial integrity / AML work.
Whilst the volume of payments fraud is quite low in Ireland as a percentage of total
transactions, nevertheless it can have a detrimental impact on individuals and
businesses.
As payments evolve, so too do the techniques used by fraudsters. The rise of social
engineering scams has exposed consumers to increasingly sophisticated fraud
schemes that can be difficult to detect and prevent. This is why individual firms must be
proactive, ensuring they incorporate security by design when developing new payment
solutions.
Innovation is required to keep pace with criminal elements seeking to disrupt the
payments ecosystem, thereby undermining public trust in the broader financial system.
The fight against fraud is not limited to any individual firm - the entire ecosystem,
including both financial and non-financial stakeholders, must work together to meet the
challenge of evolving fraud techniques and typologies.
This is why - at the Central Bank - we have been engaging with a number of large tech
firms since the start of the year, including Google, encouraging them to do more to
ensure they are not facilitating consumer harm. I am pleased that progress has been
made in this regard and welcome Google's announcement last week that they will
introduce a verification process for financial services advertisers. An effective financial
services verification policy is a key disruptive tool in the fight against online financial
scams.
For that reason, in particular, I want to welcome the establishment of the Anti-Fraud
Forum under the Strategy. This Forum will seek to enhance the formal cooperation
between the financial sector, telecoms, and social media companies, whose networks
and platforms are often utilised to propagate fraudulent activity.
Let me conclude.
As Minister Chambers outlined, the overarching objective of the National Payments
Strategy is to build and enhance public trust in the payment system, by ensuring that it
works in the best interests of all consumers and businesses.
Ultimately, the success of the National Payments Strategy will be largely determined by
the organisations in attendance today, and the degree to which we all engage in and
support this multi-year programme of work.
The Department of Finance has set out the roadmap for the future of the Irish payments
ecosystem, and it is now up to us, as a collective, to put our words into action.
I would like to thank you all again for attending the event today. We have arranged a
small reception which I hope some of you will be able to stay to attend.
Thank you.