Norges Bank’s Oversight of Payment Systems - Licensing and Supervision

Abstract

Throughout the 1990s a number of international recommendations on risk reduction in payment systems have been drawn up. The most recent recommendations were issued by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in the report "Core Principles for Systemically Important Payment Systems" from the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS), consisting of representatives of the G-10 countries. The principles are supplemented by recommendations on the responsibilities of central banks in this area. The new Norwegian Act of December 1999 relating to Payment Systems is in accordance with these recommendations. The Act introduces authorisation and supervision of payment systems, assigning responsibility for interbank systems to Norges Bank. The Act also establishes requirements concerning the organisation of payment systems and risk management, and it incorporates the EEA Settlement Finality Directive in Norwegian law. This article describes Norges Bank’s oversight responsibility for payment systems on the basis of the Act relating to Payment Systems.