Payments
South Africa signals cautious stance on stablecoins
Deputy governor asks if they are efficient payment method or a means of circumventing regulations
Number of unplanned outages in RTGS systems doubles
Central banks with longest average downtime typically plan to upgrade system within a year
Two-thirds of RTGS systems now aligned with ISO 20022
Over 80% of central banks aligned with CPMI harmonised standards
RTGS systems with broader hours accessed by more financial firms
Number of non-banks with RTGS systems access doubles year on year
MAS backs removing aliases from Singapore’s payments app
Central bank says change is to prevent scams, not increase traceability of payments
RTGS systems’ running costs linked to operational hours
Two-thirds of infrastructure still operational for 7–12 hours daily
RTGS systems process nearly 200 million payments on average
Transaction values average $11.6 trillion among respondents
Number of RTGS fee-regulating central banks rises
More than two-fifths of retail payments ecosystem were diversified in 2025
Eurosystem to move T2 to round-the-clock operating hours
Payment systems to be available at all times as instant payments gain popularity
Non-banks lack central bank oversight in some jurisdictions
One in five smaller central banks lack oversight on all payment systems
Canada joins central banks’ multi-currency blockchain project
Work advances on Project Agorá but ledger governance questions unanswered
Some payment departments struggle with staffing capacity
Payment teams from Africa and the Americas report highest staff shortage
Payments units have median staffing of 30 FTE personnel
Central banks say they are boosting staff numbers to keep pace with evolving technology
SBP wants Pakistan’s cattle markets to go cashless
Central bank sees Eid al-Adha festival as opportunity to boost financial inclusion
UK needs closer EU ties in multipolar world – BoE’s Bailey
Governor urges greater support for multilateral institutions to solve growing global imbalances
Parliamentary committee hails success of BoE’s RTGS renewal
Programme holds lessons for wider government digital transformation, committee says
Instant payments gaining volumes from RTGS – BoE study
Move may be driven by demand for rapidly available funds and lower payment fees, say authors
More progress needed on cross-border payments – Bailey
BoE governor says G20’s targets for 2027 are unlikely to be met
DNB to focus on payments system’s resilience and autonomy
Strategy aims to ‘broaden the range of options in the payments landscape’
Stablecoins pose risks to singleness of money – BoE study
Paper explores how monetary cohesion might be preserved amid digital innovation
Philippines may not reach digital payments goal, says governor
Rate cuts will have limited impact on growth, despite BSP having ample policy space, says Remolona