Norges Bank's Oversight and Supervision of the Payment System

Abstract

The Norges Bank Act from 1985 gave Norges Bank responsibility for promoting an efficient payment system. In keeping with the increased focus on risk in the payment system, both nationally and internationally, Norges Bank’s work on payment system issues has also changed. The Payment Systems Act of 1999, which gives Norges Bank responsibility for authorisation and supervision of interbank systems, is important for the central bank’s work in this area. The recommendations concerning payment systems from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) also state that central banks should publicly disclose their role and their most important policies with respect to payment systems. In order to explicitly define our objectives for and roles in the payment system and in line with the recommendations from the BIS, Norges Bank makes public the basis for its oversight and supervision of the payment system.