Ireland's central bank has said that there are innovations in the payment space that "remain untapped" in the country.

Speaking at the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland’s (BPFI) National Payments Conference, Vasileios Madouros, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) told attendees that since the last National Payments Plan over a decade ago, there had been remarkable change and innovation in domestic payments yet there remained important areas in which Ireland is “still lagging behind.”

“Consumers having greater access to payment solutions is dependent on the market grasping the opportunities available,” Madouros said. “Despite the instant payments infrastructure being available since 2017, material providers of payment accounts in Ireland have not implemented it.

“For consumers and businesses, this is an unsatisfactory outcome.”

The deputy governor's remarks coincided the central bank's publication of recommendations in response to the public consultation on the Department of Finance’s National Payments Strategy.

The CBI has called for coordinated action to realise the benefits of innovation and integration in a European context, an edict it said should mean that material payment account operators ensure that Irish consumers and small businesses benefit from payment innovations that exist elsewhere in Europe.

Other recommendations said that cash should remain widely available and accepted as a means of payment, and that issuers, operators, participants, and enabling network providers engage collectively to ensure the security and resilience of the payments ecosystem.

The central bank also urged national public authorities, industry associations, and research bodies to prioritise improving capacity for better informed policy decisions on payments, through research and analytical insights.

“The National Payments Strategy offers an opportunity to take a longer-term view and develop a coherent, system-wide approach to the future evolution of payments in Ireland, within a European context,” said Madouros in his closing remarks. “Making the most of that opportunity will be critical because a healthy and competitive economy relies on an innovative, inclusive and resilient payments ecosystem.”

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