Payment system can be considered an area without which it is impossible to imagine the proper functioning of banking, or financial system of the given state. Over the past thirty years, the field of payment systems has changed significantly. On the one hand, the regulation of this financial sector has increased, but on the other hand, this area has also become the subject of competition between individual providers of these services. New categories were introduced in this area and at the same time new entities were created, which can engage in business activities by providing selected payment services. These paper aims to show the importance and role of the central bank on the example of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in the field of payments. It will respond to the hypothesis that was established as follows: "The position and importance of the central bank for the field of payment systems is sufficiently understood in legal regulations"