“e-Payments: a roadmap” – The new temporary exhibition at the Museum of the Bank of Greece
10/06/2019 - Press Releases
The new temporary exhibition of the Museum of the Bank of Greece entitled “e-Payments: a roadmap” was presented today at noon by Manos Kordakis, Head of the Museum and Collections Section, and Yiorgos Korfiatis, Head of the Funds Transfers and Infrastructure Study Section.
The opening of the exhibition will be held today at 19.00 by Governor Mr Yannis Stournaras. Click here for his brief address.
The exhibition is dedicated to electronic retail payments, which constitute an essential part of our everyday lives, and offers visitors the opportunity to discover all the latest technological advances at their disposal, in order to carry out their transactions easily and, above all, securely in a rapidly evolving environment. The exhibition displays the available means of payment, as well as the mechanisms and systems that underpin the smooth and secure handling of electronic payments. It aspires to serve as a user manual for electronic payments and to answer any questions that visitors may have. The exhibition is part of the Bank’s initiative to foster financial education in Greece.
As mentioned in the foreword of the exhibition’s catalogue by the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, “the exhibition presents electronic payments from the perspective of the country’s central bank, which means that, apart from the available means of payment, it also highlights the mechanisms and systems behind them. At the same time, it showcases the role of the Bank of Greece in this process.”
A few words about e-payments
The evolution and rapid diffusion of digital technology resulted in a strong increase in the use of electronic means of payment. Both the use of cards and the use of applications that provide access to the payments account, through the internet and/or the mobile phone network, register a remarkable rise. A characteristic example for our country is that in 2013 card payments stood at 78 million, while in 2018 they reached 629 million. Respectively, credit transfer payments that are initiated electronically stood at 122 million in 2013, while in 2018 they reached 297 million. Cumulatively for 2018, the volume of payments using the abovementioned instruments accounted for 97% of all electronic payments (of which 63% concerns card payments and 34% concerns credit transfers). Direct debit payments, although their number has almost doubled since 2013 (14 million payments in 2013, against 29 million payments in 2018), represent just 2.5% of all electronic payments. At the same time, the use of cheques, which are also an instrument of cashless payments, has declined significantly in recent years (from 11 million in 2013 to 6 million in 2018).
The exhibition
The exhibition starts with the payments account, which is a key prerequisite for carrying out a payment, and continues with the presentation of the four current payment instruments:
• credit transfer
• payment card
• cheque
• direct debit.
Furthermore, it explains the basic concepts relating to the structure and operation of electronic payments, while at the same time it presents the mechanisms and systems behind them.
A high-tech interactive experience
An exhibition on electronic payments could be nothing less than technology-enabled. The items and materials exhibited have an interactive character, and visitors are invited to participate actively and broaden their underlying knowledge, obtaining an overall view of the solutions that payment instruments have to offer. The exhibition features an interactive payments roadmap showing the itinerary that starts from the originator and ends at the beneficiary. It also includes educational videos, a video game, quizzes and the “luminous” path of a payment authorisation with credit card.
All these elements make up a cutting-edge environment that guarantees a pleasant visiting experience, while at the same time visitors’ personal involvement ensures that they will learn firsthand the possibilities available to them, but also the unseen path that payments follow towards their completion.
The exhibition is deployed alongside the permanent exhibition of the Museum of the Bank of Greece, which displays the traditional means of payment, i.e. banknotes, coins and other exhibits of our economic history, in a very interesting “dialogue” between the past and the future.
An application for electronic payments
The exhibition also presents the first smartphone application of the Bank of Greece. It simulates a digital wallet, while, through an entertaining multiple choice game, visitors learn how to best make a payment. The application is available for free from App Store for iOS devices and from Google Play for Android devices.
A collector medal with a latent image
On the occasion of the exhibition, the Banknote Printing Works Department (IETA) of the Bank of Greece created a commemorative medal of the Museum for 2019, boasting a cutting-edge minting method that allows a different motif to appear under a different viewing angle. This technique is used for the first time in Greece.
On one side of the medal, a latent image is engraved. This means that, when someone looks at the medal, two different motifs appear depending on the angle. This might not be something new in visual arts, but so far few attempts have been made worldwide in coins, owing to the technical constraints imposed by their small size. The one motif is the logo of the Museum of the Bank of Greece and the other is a palmette, IETA’s mintmark. The centrepiece of the other side of the medal is a stylised replication of a stater of Chios, which typically featured a sphinx.
The production of this medal is the outcome of several and repeated trials until an admittedly excellent result was achieved. Needless to say, such products of high artistic value are a testament to the vast technical and technological capabilities of the Greek Mint (IETA), coupled with the craftsmanship of its high-skilled staff.
The catalogue
The exhibition is accompanied by a 104-page colour catalogue that will be distributed to visitors for free.
Contributors
The exhibition was designed and organised by the Payment and Settlement Systems Department and by the Museum and Collections Section of the Centre for Culture, Research and Documentation of the Bank of Greece, with the valuable contribution of the Information Systems Department and the Technical and Administrative Support Department of the Bank of Greece.
Information
• Museum of the Bank of Greece
3, Amerikis str., Athens 102 50
Tel: 210 320 4444
Email: museum@bankofgreece.gr
Visiting hours:
• Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 09:00 - 15:00
• Thursday: 09:00 - 19:00
The Museum is closed on Monday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as on public holidays.
Entrance is free.
Click here to find the material accompanying the exhibition.