Given the increasing need and importance of developing sound and efficient infrastructure for banking systems in the Arab World, particularly with regard to payment and settlement systems, the Council of Governors of Arab central banks and monetary agencies decided in its 2004 annual meeting, to establish the Arab Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (ACPSS). The ACPSS is composed mainly of managers in charge of payment systems at the central banks in the region.
The main objective of the Committee is to contribute to the payment and settlement systems development in the Arab countries by assisting national authorities in modernizing their systems, and promoting cooperation between these authorities and relevant international institutions. The Committee constitutes as well a unique opportunity for the exchange of expertise and experience among its members, which contributes to coordination among the Arab central banks on payment and settlement issues. In addition, the Committee also follows-up on the implementation of recent standards in the field, and contributes to raising awareness among the financial community in the Arab World through the organization of seminars, workshops, and issuance of working papers.
The Arab Monetary Fund acts as the Technical Secretariat of the ACPSS committee. In this capacity, the AMF is responsible for the preparation and distribution of invitations, agendas and minutes of the committee’s meetings, and coordination with the ACPSS members regarding the committee’s work. Additionally, the AMF also contributes to the preparation of the working papers and studies discussed by the Committee. In this regard, a working group, composed of a number of the Committee’s members, was established to follow-up on the various items of the work program set by the committee at its annual meetings.
The ACPSS maintains a close cooperation with the International Committee on payment and settlement systems (CPSS) of the Bank for International Settlements, whereby a representative of the International Committee regularly attends the annual meetings of the ACPSS. Similarly, these meetings are also attended by representatives of the Union of Arab Banks and the Union of Arab Securities Commissions as observers.