PAYMENTS IN A NEW DEMOCRACY
A country in Africa has recently undergone a revolution and is now governed by a popular democracy. In the past, all economic activity was undertaken by the autocratic leadership and their facilities, which no longer exist. The population of the country only survived in the past via various forms of barter, but now have to understand and establish modern functioning payment facilities. Start the process of understanding by describing some of the basics of payment in a letter to the revolutionary council.
Include:
The three purposes of money, the importance of payment systems in general and a national payment system in particular;
The central bank’s role and the purpose of regulation;
Define (briefly) payment, clearing and settlement networks and summarise how they work together to effect payment between parties;
Also, define what a payments management body is and how it achieves its purpose via payment clearing houses;
Suggest possible payment systems that the government should consider, and
Describe conceptually how they work.
