Payments

Prior to the introduction of electronic payment (Payment) solutions as a means to satisfy payment obligations, cash was the primary means of payment for consumers in the European Union at the point-of-sale. During the early nineties of the last century, new electronic communication techniques were developed which resulted in the introduction of Payment products such as debit cards and credit cards. In general, Payment products consist of four different layers, being the product layer, payment scheme layer, clearing layer and settlement layer. As these Payment products provide for an efficient and safe alternative for cash and cheques, the use of such analogue means for satisfying payment obligations has decreased substantially over the last decades and continues to decrease at present. This chapter describes the main Payment products that are available in the market today. As set out in this chapter, these Payment products can generally be divided into the following main categories: (i) credit transfers; (ii) direct debits; (iii) card payments; and (iv) payments connected to electronic money transactions.