EPayments Project Final Report of Initial Project Work rnib innovation Unit


Review of current industry initiatives



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4.0 Review of current industry initiatives

The key issues for the payments industry revolve around fraud prevention and driving down the costs of making payments. The costs associated with back office processing of payments can be significantly lowered by moving to electronic payment methods, so there is high probability that the industry will actively encourage their use.


The suggestion that cheque payments should be phased out in 2018 places a much greater emphasis on the need to develop alternative payment methods. It seems very unlikely that the target date of 2018 will be met, but a managed decline in the service leading to an ultimate end-date is inevitable. It is forecast that less than 7% of all non-cash transactions will be made by cheque in 2012, dropping to 3% by 20188.
The following is a review of the factors affecting the payments industry in the UK. The purpose is to help the project board decide how best to approach the sector in order to influence the development of electronic payment systems in the future.
It is recognised that there are a number of emerging technologies that could offer significant benefits to people with sight loss. It is also likely that all of these technologies are likely to continue to develop in one form or another, but that only some of them will become mainstream.
The project team performed a PEST9 (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis) to summarise the current market position and to identify trends.

4.1 Political




4.1.1 European Influence

SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a concept being developed by the EU to harmonise payments throughout the Euro zone. The concept is based on all electronic payments being considered to be domestic within the Euro zone. This will reduce the costs associated with handling international payments. The impact on the end-user is seen that a single card/payment mechanism can be used throughout the zone, with no additional costs. However as, at the time of writing, the UK has chosen not to adopt the Euro, it will not be included in this scheme10.


PSD (Payment Services Directive) is an EU Directive designed to create the legal framework to make SEPA possible. The Directive was transposed into national legislation by all EU Member States by 1 November 2009. Under the PSD, payment service providers have an obligation to provide clear information about the payment to the consumer, including giving detailed terms and conditions, information about the payment service provider, features of the payment service, processing times, spending limits, charges and refund rights. This information should be provided to the customer before starting to use the service11. Although the UK has not adopted the Euro, the PSD still applies to the processing of payments here. There is no specific reference to making sure this information is accessible, which would be covered by other legislation (DDA).

4.1.2 UK Government

Within the UK, the Department for Transport (DfT) have released a strategy outlining their plan to roll out contactless smart card ticketing systems throughout the UK transport infrastructure12. Their expectations are that by 2012 existing schemes will be migrated to ITSO13 to create a standard, and there will be a number of schemes being rolled out (including London, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and North East). By 2015, they anticipate smart integrated ticketing systems to be established in all major urban areas, on several rail franchises and for mobile phones using NFC to be established as ticketing media. By 2020 they are expecting to see near universal coverage of smart ticketing on public transport.

Following initial conversations with the Smart Card Networking Forum, it appears that there are already a number of live smart card trials in the UK. The DfT strategy was pushed through with limited time allowed for consultation and feedback. As a result RNIB will need to try and work with specific local authorities to make sure the needs of blind and partially sighted people are fully considered.
The Conservatives, who, at the time of writing, have formed a coalition Government with the Liberal Democrats, had two statements related to ePayment solutions in their election manifesto. They are:

1) "We will require all credit card providers to send their customers a data file containing information on pricing and usage. This data file can be uploaded onto third party price comparison websites, helping people to make better informed choices and tackling consumer rip-offs."


This data file has the potential to give greater confidence to people using credit cards by allowing easier confirmation of transactions and the costs of using these services. This should allow people to make more informed choices about the cards they use. It will be essential for us to ensure that the file is accessible and can be uploaded to comparison websites by someone using assistive technology.
2) "We will be the first country in Europe to extend superfast 100 mbps broadband across most of the population."
This commitment is likely to have an impact on levels of internet banking and shopping use with high-speed services being made available in even rural locations. It will take some time for the infrastructure to be put in place.14
However, given that the Treasury is making cuts to spending across government departments, the current situation is unclear and schemes and initiatives could be shelved or put on hold in the near future15.

4.1.3 RNIB Campaigns


RNIB is aware that some banks in the UK are providing ATMs with audio output available as an option for their customers. There is an expectation that this audio output could significantly improve the ability of people with sight loss to withdraw cash, check balances and access other financial services via ATM's.
RNIB's Campaigns team has planned a project to increase the availability of audio information at ATMs throughout the UK. The project will focus on ensuring that banks and other financial institutions install the hardware and software to deliver audio information to customers who need it. The project aims to deliver a Campaign report and media activity in December 2010, with further actions to be decided following publication of the report.



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