Retail Payment system

Technology Roadmap

Roadmap Overview

The U.S. financial system processes millions of transactions each day to facilitate purchases and payments. In general terms, a payment system consists of the means for transferring money between suppliers and users of funds through the use of cash substitutes, such as checks, drafts, and electronic funds transfers.

A payment system is a system exchanges / trades value by changing the ownership of money. It consists of a set of instruments, banking procedures, and, typically, interbank funds transfer systems that ensure the circulation of money. These systems allow for the processing and completion of financial transactions.

From the typical consumer’s perspective, making a payment is simple. A person swipes a card, clicks a button, or taps a mobile device and the payment is approved within seconds. However, the infrastructure and technology underlying the payment systems are substantial and complex. To simplify, a payment system has three parts (see Figure below).

Design Structure Matrix (DSM) Allocation

The DSM of the Retail Payment System provided by banks is depicted in the image below.

Object Process Model (OPM)

The OPM diagram captures the main object of the roadmap, its decomposition into systems (squares), as well as the main processes (ovals).

Figures of Merit (FOM)

The table below show a list of FOMs by which can assess a Payment System.

Class	Figure of Merit	Units
Performance	Value of transactions processed per annum	US$
Productivity	Number of transactions processed per annum	#
Efficiency	Average cost per transaction	US cents
	Transaction settlement period	Seconds
Reliability	System downtime per year	Seconds
	Payment conversion rate	%
Safety	Fraud rate	%