The Functions of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems
The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) was the former name of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI). Central banks from the G-10 formed the CPSS. Today, it consists of twenty-five members, with tri-annual meetings. Its primary function is setting global payment, clearing, and settlement standards. It aims to improve safety, increase efficiency, enhance transparency, and contribute to financial stability. The CPMI also provides a platform for central banks to collaborate, focused on monetary policy, financial oversight, and market operations.
The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems Explained
The CPSS system, now CPMI, intends to improve global payment, clearing, and settlement standards by monitoring and analyzing risks. It also coordinates and cooperates with central banks and systematic financial institutions.
The CPMI BIS mandate also includes:
- Risk identification to the global financial system
- The sharing of analytics, research, and experiences in the payment, clearing, and settlement systems
- Data on the performance of central bank oversight functions and services for a better overall understanding
- The development of advice for central bank policies
- Establishing and promoting global standards and recommendations on regulation and oversight of payment, clearing, and settlement systems
- The implementation and monitoring of CPMI standards and recommendations by member and non-member entities
- Supporting cross-border cooperation, including information sharing, crisis communication, and contingency planning for cross-border crisis management
- Maintaining non-CPMI central banks relationships, sharing experiences and information, and promoting the implementation of CPMI standards and recommendations
The History of the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems
The Swiss-based Bank of International Settlements (BIS), dating back to the 1930s, hosts the CPMI Secretariat, formerly the CPSS Secretariat. In 1990, the Global Economy Meeting (GEM) oversaw the formation of the CPSS, which consisted of G-10 central banks. It formed partnerships and working groups with non-CPSS members and slowly extended its field of interest as the global financial system grew in complexity and interdependency.
In 2014, the GEM voted to change the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems to the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure to reflect more accurately on its day-to-day operations. The name change included changes to its charter and mandate.
Examples of What the CPMI (formerly CPSS) Does
The CPMI usually meets tri-annually, establishes working groups to address specific issues, for example, the 2010 Working Group on Repo Market Infrastructure or the 2016 Digital Innovations Working Group, and shares its findings with non-members.
One example of its standard-setting and policy work includes the 2012 publication “Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMI)” in cooperation with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). CPMI and IOSCO members incorporated PFMI into their legal and regulatory frameworks.
CPMI and IOSCO also published the 2014 Recovery of Financial Market Infrastructures and the 2016 Guidance on Cyber Resilience for Financial Market Infrastructures reports.
The Legal Status of the CPMI
The CPMI has no legal, regulatory, or supranational authority. It functions closer to a think tank comprised of entities with enforcement powers, aiming to set standards, but relies on voluntary implementations.
CPSS Conclusion
The CPMI, formerly CPSS, strives to improve the global financial infrastructure via research, analytics, and working groups. It has no enforcement authority and relies on voluntary implementation and supervision of recommendations.
FAQs
What is a CPMI loan?
The CPMI cannot issue loans as it is neither a bank nor a financial institution.
What is the BIS Innovation Hub?
The BIS Innovation Hub identifies critical technology trends affecting central banks, develops goods to improve the global financial system, and offers a network for central bank experts on innovation.