Oversight

Legal & Regulatory Framework

The National Payment System Act 2021-1 (the NPSA) provides the legal framework for the Bank’s management, administration, operation, regulation, supervision and oversight of the national payment system. The Bank’s authority for oversight of the national payment system is drawn from Section 4(1) of the NPSA. Accordingly, the Bank must ensure the safety and efficiency of the national payment system; and it may issue directives to effect change and enforce corrective action in response to non-compliance with regulations and/or policies. The National Payment System (Payment Services and Payment Service Providers) Regulations, 2026 further strengthen the regulatory environment by detailing the requirements governing payment service providers, electronic money issuance, access to payment systems, safeguarding obligations, and standards for executing payment transactions. These Regulations operationalize several provisions of the NPSA, clarifying obligations for market participants and enhancing consumer protection, system integrity, and supervisory effectiveness. The Regulations were issued pursuant to Section 62 of the NPSA and represent an important extension of the Bank’s oversight authority.

Oversight

Prudential supervision is concerned with the soundness of individual financial institutions, but oversight, ensures that the payment system can withstand possible failures of individual institutions. The National Payment System Oversight Policy Framework details the Bank’s oversight approach and seeks to ensure that the national payment system optimises services to the economy. The framework will develop and evolve over time, thereby strengthening the system against shocks through the application of rules and standards, monitoring and enforcement. It is informed by the CPSS Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems, CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures; CPMI-IOSCO Responsibilities of central banks, market regulators, and other relevant authorities for FMIs; and all other relevant standards. Compliance with these international standards and best practices make cooperative oversight with other central banks more effective. 

The scope of the Bank’s oversight extends to all payment systems that meet the designated criteria; payment system operators; payment services and payment service providers; payment instruments; central securities depository, securities settlement systems; and critical service providers. This broad scope of oversight is important for monitoring all aspects of the national payment system to ensure safety and efficiency; and to maintain public confidence. The Bank will licence and authorise payment system operators and payment service providers in accordance with the NPSA and will use a risk-based approach to focus its oversight activities on verifying compliance with the legislation, regulations and prescribed standards. These activities include:

• Ongoing monitoring and analysis of the performance of payment systems and payment service providers.
• Periodic assessments of payment systems; on-site inspections of payment service providers; and issuance of guidelines.
• Coordinating with stakeholders; analysing incidents and managing crises; inducing change; and promoting research and development.

Cooperation with Other Authorities

The Bank has established co-operative arrangements with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) through a Memorandum of Understanding, to ensure that its responsibilities as overseer can be fulfilled effectively. This co-operation enhances the efficiency of oversight by minimising duplication of effort and regulatory burden on payment service providers and FMIs. It also helps to promote the consistent application of policies and reduces gaps in the oversight process. The details of the Bank’s co-operation with the FSC are documented in the Framework for Co-operation on Oversight of the National Payment System.