Central banks should not provide retail-payment services themselves, said Pentti Hakkarainen, the deputy governor of the Bank of Finland.

Hakkarainen said that it was wise for central banks that did so to wind such activity down. He said that public authorities should not engage in competitive activities and should not subsidise production of its own services, which would crowd out private enterprise.

He said, however, that central banks were important as catalyst for both change and improvement