Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

• Analyze the drivers and design principles of **Faster Payments** (instant payments) systems.
• Evaluate the operational and legal challenges of implementing a 24/7/365 real-time settlement environment.
• Describe the benefits and implementation roadmap for the global shift to the **ISO 20022** messaging standard.
• Understand the regulatory challenges related to competition, access, and interoperability in retail payments.
• Assess the fraud, security, and financial crime risks inherent in instant payment systems.
• Examine the role of the central bank in promoting innovation, competition, and financial inclusion in retail payments.
• Evaluate the impact of mobile payments, digital wallets, and Open Banking on the payments ecosystem.
• Formulate a strategic plan for the modernization and risk mitigation of a national retail payment system.

• Central Bank Payments System Strategists and Operators
• Commercial Bank Retail Payments and Operations Managers
• FinTech and Payments Innovation Executives
• Financial Regulators and Consumer Protection Agencies
• Risk Management and Fraud Prevention Specialists
• IT Architects supporting Retail Payment Infrastructure

Instant payment system design workshop, Fraud risk assessment case studies, Group project on ISO 20022 migration planning, Policy debates on Open Banking and third-party access, Technical deep dives into fraud detection models, Structured discussions on financial inclusion strategies.

Unit 1: The Shift to Faster Payments

• Drivers for instant payment systems: consumer demand, business efficiency, and economic growth.
• Key design choices: settlement mechanism (e.g., RTGS-linked), access models, and message formats.
• The concept of **irrevocability** in a real-time, push-payment environment.
• Cross-border and regional instant payment initiatives (e.g., SEPA Instant, Pix).

• The requirement for 24/7/365 operational uptime and resilience.
• Managing settlement finality and intraday liquidity in a continuous settlement model.
• Techniques for managing risks related to system capacity and latency.
• The role of the central bank in providing access to central bank money for instant settlement.

Unit 2: Technology, Risk, and Standards

• The strategic importance of the **ISO 20022** standard for data richness and interoperability.
• Mapping legacy payment formats to the new ISO 20022 structure.
• Benefits for compliance (AML/CTF), fraud detection, and straight-through processing.
• The implementation roadmap and challenges of system migration.

• Identifying new types of fraud in instant payment systems (e.g., authorized push payment fraud).
• Advanced fraud detection and prevention mechanisms (e.g., AI/ML-based behavioral analysis).
• Cybersecurity risks to the retail payment network and participant endpoints.
• The legal and regulatory allocation of liability for instant payment fraud.

Unit 3: Competition and Open Banking

• Regulatory policy on third-party access (TPPs) and non-bank payment service providers (PSPs).
• The central bank's role in ensuring fair and equitable access to payment infrastructure.
• Policy to promote competition and reduce concentration risk in the retail payments market.
• Addressing interoperability challenges between competing payment networks.

• The architecture and regulatory framework for **Open Banking** (PSD2, etc.).
• The role of APIs in enabling new payment initiation and account information services.
• Policy for data privacy, consumer consent, and security in the Open Banking ecosystem.
• Impact of mobile payments, digital wallets, and BigTech entry on the market structure.

Unit 4: Strategic Policy and Future Trends

• The use of modern retail payments to promote financial inclusion and reduce cash dependency.
• The role of the central bank in defining technical standards and promoting best practices.
• Policy responses to the rise of stablecoins and potential retail CBDC.
• The future evolution of the retail payments ecosystem and regulatory strategy.