Canadian Payments Association Releases New Vision, Strategic Roadmap

The Canadian Payments Association (CPA) has released its long-term strategic plan for the next 10 years.

Vision 2020, as the plan is called, expects the Canadian payments industry to mature quickly, with automation and increasing Canadian and international regulations playing key factors.

Begun in 2008, Vision 2020 focuses on five areas:

• Supporting electronic payments
• Driving payments efficiencies
• Modernizing the legal framework
• Enhancing exchange, clearing and settlement technology
• Expanding value-added services.

Doug Kreviazuk, Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs, told AFP that the bulk of the CPA's work likely will commence within the next three years. "The strategy is not about implementation," he said. "It's about a direction and identifying what we believe to be important. It's the culmination of analysis of what we believe to be the anchors of the needs of our membership and the users of our payments in Canada."

The CPA's next step is to conduct research on issues that it identified in Vision 2020, and then formulate a position. "So, for example, how do we position ourselves regarding mobile payments," Kreviazuk said.

The strategic roadmap comes as the Canadian government created a new payments system taskforce to review the country's payments system. A report is due to the Minister of Finance in 2011. "The work isn't known and we know it could have an impact," said Kreviazuk. "We're waiting to see what will happen."

One goal of Vision 2020 is to increase the speed to market for new payments technology. "What we're hoping is that there is a direct and positive benefit to corporate users," said Kreviazuk. "AFP of Canada has always been a key stakeholder and they are very important to the CPA and the fulfillment of its vision."