It is being widely acknowledged that direct cash transfers to social protection beneficiaries may be a far more efficient instrument than indirect subsidies and price controls. However, direct cash benefit transfers cannot be effectively undertaken in absence of appropriate payment systems. This research aimed to study the existing payment systems in Bangladesh, bring out and present relevant lessons from global experience in designing improved payment systems, and recommend an appropriate payment system for Bangladesh. Experiences of some countries in terms of developing their payment systems may be more relevant to a particular country than those of other countries. In such a situation, it is important to study in detail the payment system reforms in the countries that offer concrete relevant lessons to be learnt in the context of Bangladesh. Accordingly, this study presents case studies on payment systems in Ireland, South Africa and India.