FMI
Ibos warns of payments disruption as Sepa deadline set to be missed
Banking association says 2014 Sepa migration target will be missed at current pace, which could see systems shut down and payments fail; harmonisation may be limited even when target met
People: Poloz names special advisor; BoE appoints insurance specialist to PRA
Bank of Canada appoints senior advisor to the governor; UK's Prudential Regulation Authority names final independent director; payments systems Bacs and Chaps appoint new chairmen
Ukraine caps cash use in bid to boost e-payments
National Bank of Ukraine hopes to deliver a wide range of benefits by imposing limits on the size of cash payments
ECB issues draft regulation on systemically important payment systems
Central bank seeks comment on draft regulations implementing CPSS-Iosco Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures, for systemically important payments systems in the eurozone
BoE chief cashier looks forward to further innovations in the use of cash
Chris Salmon, chief cashier and executive director for banking services at the Bank of England, says ‘local recycling' of cash in ATMs poses questions over authentication
Financial exclusion in Europe driven by move away from cash, study finds
New report from Brussels-based pressure group finds financial exclusion is a growing phenomenon as cash falls out of favour for everyday transactions
Riksbank predicts ‘elimination’ of retail payments competition
Sweden’s retail payments market is expanding but Sveriges Riksbank says larger players will prevail and smaller companies ‘will be eliminated’
EC recognises member state fears that FTT will hurt clearing
Tax liability could send CCPs "directly into insolvency" warn Czech officials in leaked document
UK consumers drop cash in move towards mobile payments
British Retail Consortium says cash usage fell sharply last year, while research by VocaLink finds a strong uptake of mobile payments by consumers, though retail payments are still dominated by cash
RBA considers overhaul to card access regimes
Reserve Bank of Australia launches consultation on whether to change or revoke rules governing access to credit and debit card systems – which might allow the RBA itself to acquire cards
Central bank operations push up Target2 turnover
ECB annual report says central banks helped push the value of payments in Target2 system to €634 trillion in 2012; balances diverged as German claims and Spanish liabilities increased
German banks adopt Step2 for domestic payments
EBA Clearing reveals seven German banks will use the Step2 payments system to process and clear their domestic payments, converting in the second half of 2013
ECB research uses game theory to assess optimal T2S adaptation
Working paper attempts to find optimal lump-sum investment by central securities depositories migrating to Target2 Securities, and tests possibility of tacit collusion
VocaLink: Seven-day account switching set to shake up UK banks
Chris Dunne says UK payments are undergoing important changes that could see ‘economic battle' between banks; expects closer scrutiny of infrastructure by regulators
RBI sees scope for Giro payments system
Committee finds India’s existing payments system fails to meet consumers’ needs when paying bills; proposes a supplementary system to move bill paying onto a single interoperable platform
Bank of Estonia scraps new payments system
Plans for new interbank retail payments system are dropped due to a lack of popularity among commercial banks; hunt for a set-up compliant with Sepa requirements continues
Carney launches ‘safer, cheaper, greener’ banknotes
New Canadian $5 and $10 polymer banknotes aim to cut counterfeiting, lower costs and reduce environmental impact; notes unveiled 350km above the earth by International Space Station commander
Winston Churchill to appear on Bank of England’s next new banknote
UK set to release new £5 banknote series in 2016 featuring portrait of former prime minister Winston Churchill; honours his parliamentary and literary work
Ireland chases €1bn saving with payments overhaul
Central bank launches new initiative to curb high cash and cheque use and boost electronic payments; proposals include possibility of scrapping one and two cent coins
ECB’s Cœuré says cashless society is neither likely nor desirable
Executive board member believes cash is too popular to phase out, but should be made more efficient; €5 note awareness campaign shows mixed results
Fed to release new $100 bill in October after three-year delay
New $100 bill with new security features is finally ready to enter circulation, after 'creasing' issues caused delays in 2011
Bank of Canada annual report highlights banknote success
New series of polymer banknotes introduced in 2012 as counterfeiting continues to fall; inflation kept shackled throughout year but falls below target in December
Independent Scotland would face ‘significant risks’ under sterling union, says Westminster
UK government report points to drawbacks of all the currency options for an independent Scotland; refuses to back Scotland’s preference for a sterling union
National Bank of Poland updates 18-year-old banknote security
Security features of Polish banknotes to be overhauled in 2014; central bank keeping tight-lipped on the upgrades