daniel mminele : south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2015 opening remarks by mr daniel mminele, deputy governor of the south african reserve bank, on the occasion of the launch of the south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2015, pretoria, 12 september 2011. * * * good day ladies and gentlemen. thank you for accepting our invitation to the launch of the south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2015. the mandate of the south african reserve bank ’ s national payment system department ( npsd ) to oversee the payment system, emanates from the enabling legislation which is the south african reserve bank act, 1989 ( act no. 90 of 1989 – sarb act ). section 10 ( 1 ) ( c ) of the sarb act makes provision for the bank to perform such functions, implement such rules and procedures and, in general, take such steps as may be necessary to establish, conduct, monitor, regulate and supervise payment, clearing or settlement systems. during 1995 the bank published its first south african national payment system framework and strategy document – vision 2005. the vision 2005 document spanned a 10 - year period and contained strategies to modernise the south african national payment system ( nps ) and to align the domestic nps developments with international best practice. with the achievement of the major milestones and objectives envisaged in this document, a process was embarked upon to re - evaluate the nps vision, which process culminated in the strategy document published in april 2006, referred to as vision 2010. the vision 2010 focused, inter alia, on access for bank and non - bank participants, oversight of the nps, enhanced security and operational resilience in the nps, regional and international participation in payment system development, as well as increasing awareness of the features nps. the key strategic objectives outlined in the vision 2010 document have similarly been implemented and achieved. in late 2009 and early 2010, the npsd embarked on an extensive consultation and factfinding process to determine any new challenges facing the nps, and to establish if refinements to the strategic direction of the nps were required. payment systems are by nature dynamic and fast changing, and various challenges emerged nationally and internationally. it was decided that due to the demands and challenges facing the nps, a refinement of the strategic direction was required. the purpose of this framework is to provide a high - level updated strategic direction for the payment system up

factors, including the debate on nationalisation of mines, work stoppages in manufacturing industries, health and safety shutdowns, and a lower output in an agricultural sector that had grown very rapidly in previous years. the marginally stronger growth rate in 2011 ( estimated at just over 3 percent ) compared to 2010 ( 2. 9 per cent ) was due to better outcomes in tertiary sectors, particularly trade, catering and accommodation, transport, storage and communications, and financial services, underpinned by sustained growth in government spending. how did we respond to the crisis? given the unfolding of the shocks hitting the south african economy, the monetary and fiscal policy responses were largely reactive. the main forward - looking macroeconomic policy setting and decisions were made some years earlier, and enabled a sustained moderation in the economic effects of the crisis. like many other emerging market economies, capital inflows and upward pressure on the exchange rate played a complicating role in how the economy responded to the shocks and to policy. the inflation targeting framework, put in place in 2000, had largely aligned inflation expectations of economic agents with the reserve bank ’ s forecasts. with a change in policy on exchange market intervention, the it framework also allowed the currency to float and absorb major shocks without forcing major interest rate adjustments. this cushioning role was critical at the time of the lehman crisis, because it allowed the monetary authorities to continue lowering interest rates as inflation moderated even as investors sold rand denominated assets in the near - panic selling of “ risky ” assets of the time. post - lehman the value of the rand against the us dollar declined by about 35 per cent as did the currencies of many emerging market economies. south africa ’ s sound fiscal position and the high level of commodity prices implied a return of capital into the economy once risk perceptions had moderated. over the course of 2009, the rand strengthened, averaging r8. 44 to the us dollar in the year, and beginning 2010 at r7. 37. the underlying real equilibrium exchange rate of the rand was high because of the terms of trade and sound policy. bis central bankers ’ speeches the initial sharp depreciation of the currency might have generated stronger economic outcomes for exporting and import - competing sectors, but it is likely that the net effect of a persistent depreciation on the economy would have been negative at the time. it is also important to remember that these competitiveness gains would have been very small due to the