Fintech
BIS Project Icebreaker proposes cross-border retail CBDC model
Central banks used smart contracts and worked with FX providers to cut costs and risk
Brazil’s central bank authorises business payments on WhatsApp
Peers can also send money in India, while B2B only is enabled in Singapore
EME fintech teams have wider mandates
Few chief fintech officers recruited by central banks
RBA official raises concerns over CBDC
Central bank proceeding with pilot despite potential drawbacks
Agent-based models shed light on CBDC dynamics
Take-up could be as high as 25% of total money, but depends on design choices, IMF research finds
Regulating fintech is biggest tech challenge, central banks say
Benefits include financial inclusion, cost reduction and service efficiency
BIS’s Skingsley urges central banks to collaborate on tech
Developing new technology may require “more openness than central banks are used to”
Digital pound unlikely to be monetary policy tool – Cunliffe
Deputy governor says effect of paying interest unclear and could clash with other objectives
IMF officials: do not make crypto legal tender
Fund leaders call for cautious approach to digital assets at February meeting
Central banks split on machine learning, AI technologies
Respondents optimise features despite drags in data quality, skills gap and algorithmic challenges
Location, security and privacy are top cloud concerns
Richer economies more likely to domesticate and operate hybrid servers
Carstens sets out vision for future monetary system
Programmable money on shared ledger would preserve two-tiered structure
Fed spurns Custodia a second time
Central bank again denies membership application from Wyoming crypto firm
Cloud used for business continuity and advancing computation
Most institutions rely on third parties for services
Retail CBDC work more common than wholesale
Most jurisdictions still lack a legal mandate to issue a CBDC
Central banks are bullish on environmental features of CBDC
A minority of respondents’ jurisdictions prohibit crypto assets
Improving payments efficiency drives wholesale CBDC work
Advanced economy institutions lead efforts
Russia to launch CBDC pilot in April
Central bank exploring cross-border functionality to evade sanctions
Richer nations more likely to have regtech strategy
Regtech tools commonly used for risk assessment
FSB outlines crypto and defi risks to financial stability
Future work will map “oracles”, “bridges” and other links with traditional finance
Bank of Japan to start CBDC pilot in April
Central bank presses ahead with designing a general purpose CBDC
Laotian central bank launches CBDC pilot
Bank of the Lao PDR working with Japanese government and fintech firm to test CBDC
Innovation hubs more common in advanced economies
Sandboxes remain most popular fintech initiative
Two in five central banks report having a suptech strategy
Enhancing efficiency is a key driver