MARCH 2026 FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTORPayment Systems Development Group © 2026 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank1818 H Street NWWashington DC 20433Telephone: 202-473-1000Internet: www.worldbank.org This volume is a product of the staff of the World Bank. The findings, interpretations, andconclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the ExecutiveDirectors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. Theboundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work donot imply any judgment on the part of the World Bank concerning the legal status of anyterritory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS The material in this publication is subject to copyright. Because the World Bank encourages disseminationof their knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as longas full attribution is given. Contents 1. Setting the Context 03 2. Background04 2.1 NFC and Offline Payments042.1.1 Overview of NFC Payments042.1.2 Overview of Offline Payments052.1.3 The Relationship between NFC and Offline Payments06Box 1: Tokenization06 3.Deep Dive into the Extended Capabilities of FPS07 3.1 NFC073.1.1 FPS Capabilities and Considerations for Implementing NFC073.1.2 Potential NFC Use Cases103.1.2.1NFC Payer-Initiated Payment113.1.2.2NFC Payee-Initiated Payment123.1.3 Benefits and Challenges123.1.4 Lessons Learned13 3.2 Offline Payments143.2.1 FPS Capabilities and Considerations for Implementing OfflinePayments143.2.2 Potential Use Cases173.2.3 Benefits and Challenges203.2.4 Lessons Learned21 3.3.6 Liability Allocation and Legal Certainty233.3.7 Consumer Protection and Transparency243.3.8 Privacy and Data Protection243.3.9 Incident Reporting and Supervisory Monitoring243.3.10 Scheme Rules and Operational Governance243.3.11 Licensing, Certification, and Technical Standards253.3.12 Fee Governance and Market Conduct253.3.13 Supervisory and Oversight Role253.3.14 Overall Policy Position26 4. Conclusions 27 Acknowledgements29 Setting theContext The World Bank has been closely monitoring the development of fastpayment systems (FPS) by central banks and private players acrosstheglobe.This comprehensive study has resulted in a toolkitdesignedto guide countries and regions in their policy andimplementation choices when they embark on their FPS journeys. Work on the FPS Toolkit was supported by Gates Foundation. Thetoolkit can be found at fastpayments.worldbank.org and consists ofthe following components: •The main report,Considerations and Lessons for theDevelopment and Implementation of Fast Payment Systems• Case studies of countries that have already implemented fastpayments• A set of short focus notes on specific technical topics related tofast payments This note is part of the third component of the toolkit and aims toprovideinputonnear-fieldcommunication(NFC)andoffline-payment FPS capabilities. These services and capabilities arebecoming increasingly important in FPS implementations, as theywererecognized as an important driver in FPS adoption.Thedocumentis meant to support policy makers,regulators,andtechnical implementers/operators as they evaluate the use of thesecapabilities. Background offlineexperiences,it is not necessary for offlinefunctionalityandnot allNFCinteractions areinherently offline. 2.1.NFC and Offline Payments NFC(near-field communication)technology andoffline payments are well known to today’s customers,as debit or credit card schemes use them in everydaylife(that is,NFC tap-and-pay and offline transitpayments). These capabilities have greatly improvedcustomerexperienceandtheusabilityofcard-paymentinstruments,making payments withmobilephonesandwearablesseamlessandubiquitous. 2.1.1. Overview of NFC Payments NFC constitute a set of international standards thatwasdevelopedjointlybytheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization/InternationalElectrotechnical Commission and Ecma and is alignedwith additional specifications from the NFC Forum.Thiscombination allows NFC to be consistentlyimplementedin smartphones,payment terminals,transitsystems,and identity documents worldwidewhileremaining interoperable across vendors andjurisdictions. NFC technology was introduced in theearly 2000s but implemented on a smart card only in2005 and on mobile phones and at POS in 2011. It is ashort-range wireless communication standard that canfacilitate payments by providing a convenient, secure,contactlesspayment method.NFC enables dataexchange between a card and a device or betweentwo devices (such as smartphones, wearables, tablets,and the like) within close proximity, typically a fewcentimetersapart.Users can initiate and completetransactions swiftly and effortlessly by simply tappinganNFC-enabled payment device.This tap-and-gofunctionality enhances th