Electronic Payment Systems: Operation Peculiarities and Economic Efficiency Assessment

Abstract

The PayTech sector, which is transforming payment methods, has become one of FinTech's largest segments. Electronic payment systems (EPS) are developing actively and acquiring certain specific features, which are important for their creation and refinement. The achievement and maintenance of the EPS economic efficiency is the fundamental prerequisite for their sustainable development, which fact is especially important for payment services providers. The article is aimed at clarifying the nature and structure of EPS, and singling out the features of their functioning and the basis for assessing their economic efficiency. The impact of the electronic payment development on the quality of goods-money relations and economic exchange is analyzed, and the process of forming a new payment mechanism in the markets is described. The most common payment methods in the B2B and B2C segments are considered, namely the automated clearing house, cash, checks, credit card, debit card, commercial credit card, and contactless payments. The essence and features of the electronic payment systems classification are specified. It is substantiated that they form the development basis for various FinTech areas. The functions of electronic payment systems are analyzed, and based on these functions the systems are considered as part of the payment infrastructure (functions of service, transfer, information, control, information and protection, organization). The main elements of an electronic payment system, the main blocks responsible for its functional implementation, and services for non-cash electronic payments are analyzed. The emergence of the electronic payment services market is substantiated. The roles of the new participants in this market are defined, which are the payment processor and payment gateway. The technological model of an electronic payment transaction is presented, which is transaction data processing and subsequent data exchange between the participants of this transaction within the payment system. The necessity of creating a new legal framework on payment services provision is substantiated. The issues and bases of the economic efficiency assessment in the field of electronic payment services are considered.

Keywords

• digital economy
• digitalization
• fintech
• paytech
• payment transactions
• electronic payment system
• electronic payment