Europe
Three in 10 instant payment systems built in-house
Montran is most widely-used commercial partner for development
Number of unplanned outages in RTGS systems doubles
Central banks with longest average downtime typically plan to upgrade system within a year
Working group minutes: tokenised platforms vs synchronisation
Central bankers weigh up merits of emerging technologies and debate stablecoin use cases
Iceland could join euro even during a crisis – ECB’s Vujčić
BoE’s Mann also highlights pros and cons of country’s accession at currency conference
BoE asks public to vote for their favourite animals
Bank opens consultation on which creatures should feature on its next set of notes
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
Euro ‘more appealing’ for both invoicing and reserves, ECB finds
Bank’s annual report on currency’s use draws on findings from Central Banking’s benchmarking
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
Behind the scenes of the Bundesbank’s capacity-building programme
A multi-year effort has helped shore up expertise at West Balkan central banks. Will African and former-CIS institutions be equally responsive to Eurosystem technical assistance?
QT does not produce opposite effects to QE, evidence suggests
BoE study considers implications of 1980s ‘overfunding’ for policy-makers today
Some payment departments struggle with staffing capacity
Payment teams from Africa and the Americas report highest staff shortage
ECB board members begin priming markets for rate hike
Schnabel “does not expect” TPI to be needed as bond selloff was driven by “inflation compensation”
Payments units have median staffing of 30 FTE personnel
Central banks say they are boosting staff numbers to keep pace with evolving technology
Dollar smiles again, but for how long?
Twitchy investors backed the buck during Iran war, but experts are divided on whether this marks a return of the dollar smile
Europe’s central banks face tough policy calls – Barclays CEO
Venkatakrishnan also spoke on UK political uncertainty, Brexit and banking regs
French lawmakers confirm Moulin as next BdF governor
Villeroy de Galhau’s successor opens door to greener policies, throws support behind digital euro