Financial Stability
A Bretton Woods that never was
Richard Roberts recalls the last official effort to create a coherent design for an international monetary system.
Africa's first polymer banknotes to stay
Africa's first and only polymer banknotes, issued by the Bank of Zambia, will remain in circulation despite their disappointing performance, the bank said Tuesday 11 May.
Russian rouble to get facelift
The Russian rouble is getting its first facelift in six years with the addition of four high-tech security features aimed at discouraging counterfeiters, Goznak, which prints the currency, said on Thursday 6 May.
Azerbaijan selects TietoEnator card system
The National Bank of Azerbaijan has contracted with TietoEnator for the supply of a payment card system, which will be deployed at a new national processing centre.
Logica implements Chile RTGS system
Logica announced on Thursday the successful implementation of its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System for the Banco Central de Chile (BCC), Chile's Central Bank.
Request for comment on payments system risk policy
The Federal Reserve Board on 21 April requested comment on proposed revisions to Part II of its Policy Statement on Payments System Risk (PSR Policy), which addresses risk management in payments and securities settlement systems.
Bank of Korea admits system crash
The Bank of Korea has confirmed that its computer network suffered an unprecedented five-hour crash on Friday reducing the central bank to executing transactions with faxes.
Silver euro unveiled to mark EU expansion
The European Union's Irish presidency unveiled a special 10-euro silver coin on Saturday minted to commemorate the bloc's upcoming historic enlargement.
Survey of developments in e-money
The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) has published its March 2004 Survey of developments in electronic money and internet and mobile payments. In this survey the number of participating central banks and monetary authorities has…
Federal Reserve to close Columbia branch
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's regional office in Columbia will close in August, it was announced earlier this month.
RBI starts live operation of RTGS system
After a two-month trial, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday 26 March began live operations of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system but only inter-bank transactions are being put through.
CBN issues new settlement system guidelines
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released guidelines on the new settlement system for the banking industry, scheduled to commence on the 1st of April.
Combined ATM system starts in Pakistan
Dr Ishrat Husain, the governor of the fState Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has inaugurated the two ATM switches, Mnet and 1-Link, at a ceremony held at the SBP building.
Namibian Bill could remove SA money
A Parliamentary Bill in Namibia which will give the Finance Minister the option of deciding when Namibia will stop using South African notes and coins was the first legislation to be passed in the National Assembly this year.
Bank of Canada issues new $100 bank notes
The Bank of Canada officially put into circulation Canada's new $100 bank notes on Wednesday 17 March. The new notes contain various state-of-the-art security features and will be distributed and become available across the country over the next two…
Chicago Fed's 2004 Payments Conference
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's fourth Payments Conference entitled, "An Electronic Supply Chain: Will Payments Follow?" will begin at noon on May 26 and conclude mid-day on May 27 at the Chicago Fed's conference center.
Bank of Canada announces anti-counterfeiting award
The Bank of Canada announced on Wednesday 3 March the creation of a Law Enforcement Award of Excellence that will be presented annually to an official who demonstrates outstanding commitment and initiative in the fight against banknote counterfeiting.
Sri Lanka cb implements RTGS and SSS system
With the implementation of the integrated RTGS/SSS system, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has marked another milestone in the country's payment reforms.
India's RTGS launch likely by end of March
The Reserve Bank of India has now proposed "hopefully" to launch its Real Time Gross Settlement System before the end of March.
RBA tackles hidden fees in credit cards
The Reserve Bank of Australia ruled on Monday 23 February that Visa's debit card was a payments system and covered by the Payment Systems Act, allowing the bank to set standards for the card.
Oman plans new settlement system
The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) plans to introduce a real time gross settlement (RTGS) system for faster inter-bank transactions, a report said.
Bhutan to launch automated teller machines
The Bhutan National Bank, a commercial bank, will start operating an ATM facility from March this year. Software problems had delayed the introduction of the machines but these have now been solved.
Sri Lanka's settlement systems implemented
LogicaCMG has announced that it has successfully implemented the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System and the Scripless Securities Settlement (SSS) System for the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
Changes in Swedish banknote and coin series 2005
In order to reduce the risk of counterfeiting and to facilitate the recognition of genuine banknotes, the Sveriges Riksbank has decided to increase the security details in 50-kronor and 1000-kronor banknotes.