Competition in retail digital payments

Key takeaways 

• Retail payments have digitalised rapidly in both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies.
• Digitalisation has altered the competitive landscape, with new entrants (eg fintechs and big techs) and new technologies, yet incumbent banks and card networks retain their dominant position in key markets.
• In their role as operators, overseers and catalysts in payment systems, central banks support competition in diverse ways, depending on their mandates and institutional arrangements.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BIS or its member central banks.