Articles by Central Banking staff
Around two-fifths of central banks planning instant payments
Central banks processed instant transactions with average value of over $124 billion in 2023
Large central banks usually failed to quash inflation – Fed research
Soft landings are possible with early and parsimonious action, authors find
US citizens are unready for rainy days, research finds
Spending has increased from pre-pandemic trend level, Minneapolis Fed paper says
Most central banks resistant to crypto in retail payments
Just six central banks are open to retail payments being facilitated by digital assets like bitcoin
Majority of central banks increased payment system budget in 2023
Nearly half of central banks say resourcing is not sufficient
Average cost of running RTGS systems is $1.8 million
Annual costs slightly higher than last year’s benchmark
Most RTGS systems operate between seven and 12 hours daily
More than 40 institutions on average have direct access to infrastructure
Most central banks optimistic about tokenisation
Programmability, digital signatures and enhanced security are some purported benefits
Banknotes: April to June 2024
A round-up of news and salient issues that have affected central bankers in the past three months
People: April to June 2024
A round-up of central bankers in the news and on the move during the past three months
Slightly over half of payments teams outsource services to third parties
Contracting central banks provide information on attendant risks and precautionary measures
Payments staff strength averages close to 30 personnel
Employees in the Americas collect highest average annual salary
Fewer than half of central banks involved in pricing payments
But Asia-Pacific and African institutions are typically do engage in pricing
Payments Benchmarks 2024 Charts
Take a deep dive into the Payments Benchmarks charts, which have just been released for 2024.
Bank of Canada conducts large-scale survey of indigenous-owned firms
Indigenous firms have higher inflation expectations and use alternative funding sources
Over a third of central banks say retail payments are diversifying
Americas and Asia-Pacific tend to report diversification, as tech and regulation drives change
Over half of central banks have payments oversight powers
Networks and international remittance supervision only covered in a few jurisdictions
Use machine learning to protect payment systems – research
Tool could also be used to warn of money laundering and bank runs, researchers say
Banks should share data on borrowers, working paper argues
Compulsory data sharing has increased credit supply, Hungarian central bank paper says
Short- and long-term US inflation expectations rise
Home price expectations also tick upwards as the last mile of inflation proves difficult
Neutral interest rate likely to rise, paper finds
Several factors are pushing rate upwards, Bank of Canada researchers say
Most comms teams aim for social media boost in 2025
Top priorities for next year align with 2023 benchmark findings
Press releases outnumber officials’ public appearances
Statistical bulletins also rank as most published document annually
Uneven US innovation could increase inequality – research
St Louis Fed economist documents rising patent concentration by area