FMI
BoJ’s Sato outlines efforts to reform repo market
Board member says Bank of Japan is seeking to improve repo market functioning with reforms targeted at transparency, stability, efficiency and globalisation
Governments should work to promote ‘e-commerce’, UN report says
Research presented at the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia outlines policies governments should pursue to harness the benefits of e-commerce
Hong Kong 'coin carts' rake in cash
Hong Kong Monetary Authority trucks will collect coins from the public; so far, 87,000 people have traded in 78 million coins worth HK$77 million
Opposition from big banks to RBA interchange fee curb
Large commercial banks and payments providers warn of damaging impact of regulating interchange fees, but smaller challenger payment systems are broadly in favour
RBA paper finds high social cost to counterfeiting
Researchers try to put a figure on how much counterfeit banknotes cost the economy; Australian economy suffers from lower counterfeiting than elsewhere
Argentina cabinet chief rejects analysis in IMF report
Argentina needs ‘tighter macroeconomic policies, a weaker exchange rate and less microeconomic distortion,’ argues IMF outlook; cabinet chief dismisses analysis
Central Bank of Timor-Leste launches e-payments network
The ‘highly secure private interbank data network’ allows electronic payments to be made and received between any individuals or companies on the same day
Central Bank of Bahrain upgrading market infrastructure
Central Bank of Bahrain is upgrading market infrastructure and enhancing supervision of listed companies, announces governor Rasheed Al Maraj
Dutch paper finds public campaigns can boost debit card use
Working paper examines a campaign run in the Netherlands in 2007, finding it led to debit card use increasing by 2%; effects most prominent at early stage of campaign
Argentines ask central bank for higher-denomination banknotes
Argentine bankers’ associations urge the central bank to print higher-denomination banknotes, as ATMs filled with 100 peso notes struggle to meet public demand
Malaysia launches new payments system to boost online transactions
Malaysia’s central bank aims to simplify online payments with new ‘JomPAY’ platform, which has the goal of reaching 5,000 merchants by 2020 and reducing usage of cash and cheques
Colombian paper analyses intraday liquidity needs
Intraday liquidity risks can be ‘mitigated or even eliminated’ if entities have higher opening balances than the balances required to opportunely liquidate all payment obligations, paper finds
MAS to launch 'unique' government-guaranteed retail bond
Interest on the non-tradable, 10-year bond will increase annually and savers can bow out at any time; product is unique in Asia, analyst says
US Treasury's cyber chief lays out cyber security blueprint
Julia Philipp recommends targeted defences, data sharing and response planning, at OpRisk North America conference
BoE and ECB strike deal on CCP cooperation
Central banks agree to information exchange and provision of cross-border liquidity in a crisis as the UK government drops two outstanding cases against the ECB
Counterfeiting rate ‘extremely low’ for Canadian polymer notes
Bank of Canada’s polymer series now comprises 75% of the banknotes in circulation, and is subject to a counterfeiting rate of just 0.56 parts per million
UK payments regulator set for launch
PSR outlines its approach ready for start of regulation on April 1, including plans to work more closely with the industry, increase transparency and boost competition
Investigation unearths flaws in BoE’s RTGS system
Combination of elderly and complex RTGS system, inadequate testing and poor contingency planning led to nine-hour outage last October; BoE adopting review’s recommendations in full
Colombian paper considers reaction functions in payments
Working paper examines how different entities within a large-value payment system react to failures within that system, finding that a range of factors are in play
Gradual rollout for China's payment system
The country’s cross-border interbank payment system will further contribute to the internationalisation of the renminbi
Bank of Latvia establishes first overnight clearing cycle
New cycle will accelerate processing of retail payments submitted late in the day and comes with an upgrade to business continuity that should see fewer payments rejected
MAS and Esma ink cross-border CCP clearing deal
MoU paves way for Singapore CCPs providing clearing services to European banks to obtain EU recognition while remaining subject only to MAS regulatory regime
RBA mulls creation of repo CCP
Australia currently lacks a CCP for clearing repos, which could be exacerbating systemic risk and impairing market functioning, but previous efforts met with little enthusiasm
Court rules against ECB in CCP case
European court finds ECB does not have authority to regulate securities clearing systems in the EU, upholding a UK plea against rules forcing CCPs to be located in the eurozone