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Twitter: CDNPaymentSys
- Cellphone-wielding customers are changing the selling game http://t.co/9Pou0RXh about 6 months ago from HootSuite
- RT @manentiatweets: 2012 will be a pivotal transition period for #mobile #payments http://t.co/o8Nsag2H #in about 7 months ago from HootSuite
- Pay the parking meter from your cellphone? Toronto gives idea extra push http://ow.ly/6Dbyr #mobile #payment about 7 months ago from HootSuite
- RT @infc: Visa, Google Join Forces on Mobile Payments: Visa (V), Visa Europe and… http://t.co/VDnQKhYC ▸ #Mobile #Payments about 7 months ago from HootSuite
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The Way We Pay -The Task Force developed 6 principles benefiting participants to provide guidance in addressing the challenges: Competition and Innovation; User access and efficiency; Transparency and choice; Fairness and accountability; Security; Privacy
Q: Are these the right principles? Are any important principles missing that should be added or dropped?
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The Way We Pay – Canadian businesses, especially small and medium sized ones, continue to rely on paper based payment and invoicing systems. In Europe, phasing out older, paper based payments is yielding immediate economic benefits.
Q: What kind of benefits or concerns do you have in following a similar approach?
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The Way We Pay – Merchants are pressured to pay the cost of accepting credit card payments and these interchange rates have increased dramatically. In Australia, interchange fees have been regulated and set by the Central Bank since 2003. In Europe, anti‑trust and legislative action have reduced restrictions on merchants or encouraged the major credit card networks to lower interchange rates.
Q: What could be done in Canada to encourage similar results?
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The Way We Pay – To guard against online fraud, where there are no “Chip and Pin” features to protect users, online merchants ask customers for personal information.
Q: Do you feel comfortable sharing this information? What do you feel should be limited?
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The Way We Pay – Inconsistent regulatory oversight affects the competitive position of payments players. Some are bound to consult stakeholders and give the federal government an opportunity to review proposed changes in their services, while others are able to innovate without government review.
Q: What problems do these inconsistencies cause? What would you recommend to resolve these?
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Near Field Communication is defined as a short-range wireless technology that enables the communication between devices over a short distance. This can be a payment method where credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smartcards, mobiles or other devices which use radio-frequency identification for making secure payments. The embedded chip and antenna enable consumers to wave their card or fob over a reader at the point of sale.
Q: Where do you see this type of technology as most useful? Would you use it?
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Scenarios for the Future of the Canadian Payments System describes four different but plausible outcomes for the payments system to explore both opportunities and obstacles that the future might hold. As a whole, the scenario set captures a range of future possibilities, good and bad, expected and surprising.
Q: After reading these scenarios, which one do you prefer? Which one is most likely?
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The Way We Pay – The proposed Governance Framework would bring together governments, industry, users, infrastructure and legislation within an interconnected regime that is mutually reinforcing and representative of all stakeholders. The components are: Payments Legislation; Industry Self-Governing Organisation, Basic Payments infrastructure; Payments oversight body.
Q: What are your views to improve this initial proposal?
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The Way We Pay – The challenge (and the opportunity) is to ensure that new technology does not encroach on people’s privacy, but instead is harnessed to protect consumers from unnecessary disclosure of their personal information.
Q: When making payments online, do you feel as though your privacy is respected? Do you agree to have merchants have additional information to promote their services/products to you?
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The Way We Pay – If consumers and businesses adopt alternatives to cheques, the transition must accommodate those who depend on them for personal or business use. Alternatives must be readily available.
Q: What alternatives can you imagine would benefit all Canadians? Do these answer to accessibility issues, whether it be isolated community or a person with a disability?
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The Way We Pay – Clearing an online payment can take more than 24 hours. The only way to pay a bill instantly is to use other services, which issues a more expensive wire transfer.
Q: Has this ever been a problem for you?
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The Way We Pay – Cheques are a slow way to pay, leaving payors and payees uncertain when funds will be available. For governments and businesses, delays mean productivity lost and opportunities missed.
Q: Do you still use cheques? Would you like to be able to use another form of payment?
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The Way We Pay – The Task Force developed 6 principles driving the proposed Governance Framework to provide guidance in addressing the challenges: Consistent standards; Minimal regulation; Neutrality by function; Proportionality; Independent and inclusive; Framework adaptability
Q:Are these the right principles? Are any important principles missing that should be added or dropped?
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The Way We Pay – In countries much less affluent than our own, mobile payments are exploding. While Canadians are still reaching for change to feed parking meters, citizens elsewhere accomplish the same task with the tap of a cell phone or a text message.
Q: Do you feel as though this might be a problem? If so, what do you think could resolve this issue?
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The Way We Pay – Chip and Personal Identification Number (chip and PIN) technology, which is expected to reduce fraud by using embedded microchips to facilitate authentication, required merchants to make expensive system changes.
Q: Who should pay for changes to the system like this one?
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The Way We Pay – Canadians trust their payments system, consumers, businesses and governments enjoy a choice of paper (cash and cheque) and electronic (debit, credit and Automated Funds Transfer) payment methods; however it remains basically unchanged since 1998.
Q: What changes do you see happening? Would you welcome this change?
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The Way We Pay – The Self Governing Organization’s mandate might include development of standards in emerging technologies, as well as establishing codes of conduct for business practices.
Q: Are there any other components you think would be suitable for the mandate?
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The Way We Pay – Across governments and businesses, cash flow is critically important, and delays mean lost productivity and opportunities. It may be time for Canada to pursue alternatives to paper cheques, a decision made by a number of other countries recently.
Q: Have you encountered loss in productivity or opportunity due to delays? If so, are you a merchant or a consumer? What would have resolved the issue?
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The Way We Pay – One crucial aspect of the payment transaction knows the identities of the parties involved. This is increasingly difficult, especially for transactions conducted online.
Q: What security measures would you like to have to ensure your identity in making a payment online?
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The Way We Pay – The proposed Governance Framework encourages the creation of a Self Governing Organization to include all payment players, who would work to develop and enforce codes of conduct and manage the integration of new technologies.
Q: Who are the players that should participate in the Self Governing Organization?
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Scenarios for the Future of the Canadian Payments System describes four different but plausible outcomes for the payments system. The four scenarios were primarily defined and differentiated by a set of key uncertainties: eventualities that will turn out one way in one scenario, and a different way in another.
Q: What do you like or concerns you most about possible change in the payments system?
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The Way We Pay – The fundamental challenges are that must be addressed for Canada to regain its place as a payments leader are, increasing fairness in credit and debit card networks; updating the regulatory and governance structure; improving online authentication, security and privacy; and transitioning to a digital economy.
Q: Are there other significant challenges to the future of Canada’s payments system that should be addressed? What are they and why are they important?
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The Way We Pay – The Canadian Payments Association (CPA), which is responsible for clearing and settlement infrastructure, is dominated by banks and credit unions. Merchants and consumer groups do not have an effective forum in which to work together with payment service providers to resolve issues.
Q: How do we empower merchants and consumers to have an effective voice in the evolution of the payments system?
Our work cuts across many aspects of the payments system, not just digital ones. For more information on our discussion papers and the commenting process, use the navigation bar to access the main site at any time.