Information related to national payment systems (NPS) is not always freely available and remains the intellectual domain of a select few. This is one of the major problems facing organisations in the public and private sector, as well as at donor organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in dealing with national payment systems.

This includes information regarding basic concepts, components of NPS, the payment system landscape, clearing and settlement, open versus closed systems, regulatory landscape, payment instruments, payment standards and bank and non-bank participants.

In an effort to address these issues and provide the information in a meaningful and interactive manner, USB Executive Development (USB-ED) in collaboration with the Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri) and the National Payment Systems Institute will present a four-day programme in National Payment Systems. The programme will be presented in Cape Town from 22 to 25 May 2012.

The aim is to provide participants with a thorough understanding of the policy framework and regulatory issues regarding NPS, with a specific focus on the retail components and issues of the system.

The overall objective is to develop the capacity of individuals involved in building or further develop national payment systems worldwide in a sustainable way so that these systems can contribute towards regional and national growth, efficiency and financial inclusion.

This programme is aimed at representatives from the retail sector, the financial services sector, mobile network operators and other sectors who are interested in understanding the nature and critical elements of National Payment Systems.

It is also suited to representatives from central banks, policymakers and regulators interested in furthering insight into the policy, framework and regulatory issues ¡n National Payment Systems and consultants, expert advisors and researchers in the area of retail payment systems.

No formal tertiary qualifications are required to attend the programme, but participants should preferably have one to two years of management experience.

Topics that will be covered by the programme include introduction to national payment systems, the regulatory framework, interconnectivity of retail payment systems, clearing and settlement principles, payment standards and security, NPS and competition, key issues with mobile payments and understanding the demand-side for payment services.

For more information click here to visit USB-ED’s website or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..