Financial Stability
New anti-fraud cards on the way
UK - New measures to counter credit and debit card fraud have been unveiled by the UK's banking industry.
Punt passes away quietly
IRELAND - The Irish pound ceased to be legal tender from midnight on Saturday as Ireland became the second country within the eurozone - after the Netherlands - to ditch its old notes and coins.
Bank may put printing pounds in private hands
UK - Private sector operators may be given the chance to print money under proposals by the Bank of England to jettison its banknote operations.
Credit card clean-up in Australia
AUSTRALIA - The Reserve Bank of Australia is poised to make sweeping changes to credit card regulations in 2002. Should it prohibit the banks' interchange fee structure, as has already been flagged, Australia's banks will lose a collective $A400 million…
Research by the Fed Bank of Minneapolis
RESEARCH - From The Region, December 2001 published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. The Federal Reserve and Electronic Payments. What do considerations of principle, experience and reputation tell us? By Gary H. Stern, President.
Speech by Dr Wellink of the Nederlandsche Bank
SPEECH - Speech by Dr. A.H.E.M. Wellink on the occasion of a symposium of the Banque de France on ' New Technologies and Monetary Policy, 30 November 2001.
ECB - ATM conversion to euro now finalised
GERMANY - The conversion of automated teller machines, or ATMs, is now finalised, the European Central Bank said Monday in an update on the euro cash changeover.
Fears that euro ATMs will run dry
UK - The stock of euro notes in banks' cash machines is in danger of running out in the first weeks of the new currency's launch on 1 January, bankers have warned.
5m euros are stolen in three months
EUROPE - Armed gangs and other criminals have stolen Euros 5m ( £3.1m) in the three months since minting and printing of euro notes and coins began, and the situation is set to worsen, European police have warned.
Euro launch reaches its final phase
ARTICLE - Securitas GmbH, a German armoured-car company, has suffered only a few mishaps since it began hauling the new euro cash in September. Some workers threw out their backs lugging the 20-kilo sacks of coins. Others accidentally dropped the heavy…
C bank to put new LTL 20 banknote into circulation
LITHUANIA - The central Bank of Lithuania will put new twenty-litas notes into circulation on 17 December 2001.
Australia's RBA to deregulate credit card sector
AUSTRALIA - The Reserve Bank of Australia Friday proposed to deregulate the country's credit card system, forcing down fees and allowing retailers to recoup costs from customers.
Distribution of euros to start tomorrow
GERMANY - The mass distribution in Europe of new cash in euros begins tomorrow, when France, the Netherlands and Ireland begin to sell packets of euro coins to the public. Other countries will follow in the days ahead.
US Fed issues revisions to payments system risk
US - The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday issued revisions to its policy statement on payments system risk that it said "should alleviate liquidity pressures" that were identified during a broad review of the policy.
Speech by Laurence Meyer of the Federal Reserve
SPEECH - Remarks by Governor Laurence H. Meyer of the Federal Reserve Board at the Distinguished Lecture Program, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 5 December.
Spain to greet euro with video projection, TV show
SPAIN - Spain will welcome euro notes and coins 31 December 2001 with a television show and coordinated video projections in major squares across the country.
Notice from the Bank of Japan
NOTICE - The Bank of Japan has redesigned its web site, 3 December.
Argentina restrict amount of cash bank withdrawals
ARGENTINA - The Argentine government, desperate to stop a hemorrhaging of funds from the banking system, capped cash withdrawals from banks and limited the amount residents may transfer abroad.
BOE - Delivery/ payment system
UK - Bank of England Executive Director for Financial Market Operations, Ian Plenderleith, said Thursday the new delivery versus payment system for the settlement of securities trade in the U.K. was a success.
Banks deal with coin shortage in Australia
AUSTRALIA - Banks in some parts of Australia are experiencing coin shortages. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which recently implemented a new coin distribution system, blames the shortfall on teething problems with the new system.
€ Euro - French police break up euro strike
FRANCE - French riot police have forced their way into the only mint in the country producing euro coins, after a 10-day strike by workers over pay and conditions.
€ Euro - Portugal rolls presses again
PORTUGAL - The euro has brought banknote printing back to Portugal for the first time in almost a century. Since the early 1900s, the work had been outsourced, largely to the UK, for reasons of economy of scale. But the Bank of Portugal decided that it…
€ Euro - Fears over Thai impostor
NETHERLANDS - The Dutch vending machine industry has raised the alarm about similarities between the new Euros 2 coin and 10 Thai baht, which has been discovered to fit in most machines being prepared for the arrival of the single currency.
Real-time payment system operational in Russia
RUSSIA - Natalia Kochetkova, director of the payment systems and clearance department of the Central Bank announced that the bank had put into operation a system for the processing of payments in real time in Moscow and the Moscow Region.