Irish businesses face €1 billion in annual payment processing costs
Security and trust remain the primary drivers of consumer payment preferences over speed and convenience, according to new research from the Central Bank of Ireland. The central bank also found that processing retail payments costs Irish firms at least €1 billion each year.
Security ranks above speed
Survey findings published by the Central Bank of Ireland show that consumers prioritize security, reliability, trust and fraud safeguards over speed, convenience or cost when choosing payment methods.
Close to half of respondents under 35 now rely on mobile wallets as their primary payment tool, while three in five adults use a digital bank alongside a traditional institution.
However, trust in digital banks remains notably lower than in established high-street lenders.
On the merchant side, retail payment processing costs Irish businesses at least €1 billion annually, equal to 0.3 percent of GNI* or 1 percent of consumer sector activity, with smaller firms facing higher relative costs.
The two-tier monetary anchor
The speech emphasized the two-tier architecture of money, where public money anchors the entire financial system.
Central bank money provides the ultimate settlement asset, while private intermediaries innovate and provide credit.
To modernize this foundation, Eurosystem initiatives including Projects Pontes and Appia are developing distributed ledger settlement capabilities linked to TARGET Services.
Meanwhile, the digital euro and physical cash will ensure public access to central bank money.
Trust beats novelty every time
Fintechs chasing frictionless speed misjudge consumer priorities.
Central banks must anchor digital rails to public money, as private solutions splinter without a neutral settlement asset.
Modernization will fail if smaller merchants continue to bear disproportionate processing costs.