Africa
Asia’s central bankers bullish over cross-border payments
Policy-makers at Asia Summit also spoke of gradual pick-up in use of local currencies
Ethiopia adopts market-based FX regime
Move follows monetary policy reform aimed at attracting IMF funding
Turkey’s economic odyssey: inflation, lira decline and strategic shifts
Marcello Minenna delves into the damage of 20 years of ‘Erdoganomics’
Minutes released with greatest lag in lower-middle income countries
Blackout period lasts seven days in most central banks
Inflation targets have served EMEs well, says Sarb governor
EMEs and banks have ridden out rate rises relatively well, but refinancing and geopolitical risks remain
Money-supply targetters account for lowest frequency of policy meetings
Upper-middle income central banks set policy and publish reports at highest frequency
Middle income monetary policy staff salaries fall behind peers
Officials in Europe and Africa tend to earn highest average annual income
African countries plan to link payment systems – Rwangombwa
Rwanda central bank governor promotes scope for fintech growth in Africa
MPCs largest in inflation-targeting central banks
Government reps attend meetings in two-thirds of jurisdictions with other regimes
Monetary policy budget averages under $2 million annually
Budgets larger in high income, upper-middle income central banks
Briefing, analysis and research are monetary policy officials’ top duties
Average departmental staff remains below 40 persons
Over 25% of central banks pre-brief government on policy decisions
Briefing patterns differ across institutions, as two central banks start practice
Remittance fees unregulated in most jurisdictions despite high costs
But central banks identify opportunities in cross border payments integration
Banks are main instant payments participants
Email address is central banks’ least-used payment channel
African states should end fixed exchange rates, IMF official says
More credibility on monetary policy is best cure for “fear of floating”, Selassie argues
Two in five RTGS systems experienced outage last year
Majority of central banks plan technology upgrade within a year
Around two-fifths of central banks planning instant payments
Central banks processed instant transactions with average value of over $124 billion in 2023
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
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