The Comité National des Moyens de Paiement (CNMP – National Payments Committee) is the successor of the Comité National des Paiements Scripturaux (CNPS – National Cashless Payments Committee) and the Comité de Pilotage de la Filière Fiduciaire (CP2F – Steering Committee for the Cash Industry). It analyses, encourages and oversees major developments throughout the French payments ecosystem.
For a number of years, ad hoc working groups have been bringing together representatives of banks and cash-in-transit companies to work on issues specific to the cash industry. As part of industry modernisation, the Banque de France has also organised workshops to allow its partners to express their needs and ensure their time and budget constraints are taken into account.
An umbrella body – the CP2F – was set up in 2014, chaired by the Banque de France’s Directorate General Services to the Economy and Branch Network Activities, and with the participation of the French Banking Federation, Fedesfi, USP Valeurs, the French Treasury, the heads of means of payment activities from the main banking networks, and managers of cash-in-transit firms.
As part of the CP2F’s work, the Banque de France proposed a national cash management policy aimed at supporting the cash industry in five areas that are essential to ensuring that it runs smoothly.
Noting the success of migration to SEPA payments and the continued growth of non-cash payments, the public authorities organised the Assises de Paiements conference in 2015. The conference provided an opportunity to present the results of the consultation work carried out with the entire French means of payment industry, which served as the basis for drafting the first means of payment strategy.
One of the recommendations made by the conference participants was the creation of a payments committee to oversee the implementation of national objectives and relay the French payment community's views on the development of European payment systems and resources. The National Cashless Payments Committee (CNPS) was set up in February 2016.
Between 2016 and 2022, the Committee helped with the digitalisation of the payments sector and the emergence of new services. As a forum for discussion and debate, it helped to forge a position on strategic issues such as the location of payment data, the development of instant credit transfers and the request-to-pay scheme (RTP) as well as principles for the inclusion of disabled people.
The merger of the CP2F and CNPS was justified by the increasing need to develop a holistic vision of strategic payment challenges. At European level, the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) had already incorporated the cash industry into its work for a number of years, due to the strong degree of complementarity between the dematerialisation of payments and the accessibility of cash. Indeed, a number of issues such as financial inclusion and central bank digital currency are of concern to the cash and cashless sectors.
The main mission of the CNMP is to define and coordinate the implementation of the national strategy on means of payment in order to promote the development of fast, secure and inclusive payments.
The CNMP’s mission is organised around the following four areas:
In addition to defining and implementing the national strategy for means of payment, the CNMP is responsible for monitoring innovation in the field of means of payment.
Lastly, the CNMP's work is fully in phase with the European retail payment strategies prepared by the Eurosystem, the ERPB and the European Commission.
The members of the CNMP are split evenly between representatives of supply and representatives of demand. The Committee also includes representatives of public institutions involved in payment instruments.
The CNMP is chaired by the Banque de France and co-chaired by the French Banking Federation and the Association of French Corporate Treasurers.
When in plenary session, the Committee currently comprises 39 members. It meets every two years to assess the progress made in implementing the national strategy and to devise new guidelines where necessary. Committee members appoint specialist representatives to participate in implementing the national strategy within the different working groups.
The secretariat of the CNMP is jointly provided by the Banque de France and the French Treasury.
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