FMI
Fed hikes cheque processing costs by 41%
In a bid to encourage the move to electronic processing of cheques, the Federal Reserve will increase its charges for the processing of paper by 41% in 2009.
SEPA at a crossroads - ECB's Tumpel-Gugerell
SEPA, the Single Euro Payments Area initiative, is at a crossroads, said Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank.
ECB's Heinonen scoops lifetime achievement award
The man who oversaw the euro cash changeover has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the International Association of Currency Affairs, a trade body for the currency industry.
No uniform path to euro
There is no one-size-fits-all euro adoption policy available for the eight new EU countries from Central and Eastern Europe, finds a new paper from the Bank of Estonia.
Czech banknote wins prize
The International Association of Currency Affairs, an industry body, has announced that the Czech National Bank (CNB) was the runner-up in its Banknote of the Year award for the 1000-krone banknote, issued in April this year.
Zimbabwe halts e-transfers, inflation at 531 bn%
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on Friday halted electronic transfers as the currency plunged to a fresh low. News of the stoppage follows a new estimate puts Zimbabwean annual inflation at 531 billion percent.
ECB glossary on payments, clearing and settlement
The European Central Bank has published a glossary of technical terms on payment, clearing and settlement systems in the EU.
EU Commission competition claims wrong
It is the low level of cross-border account mobility, not low customer mobility in national markets, which hinders the EU's bank customers' ability to switch to a more competitive bank, says Deutsche Bank research.
Liquidity black holes
The current crisis has seen financial giants torpedoed by a lack of liquidity, which has rapidly transformed into questions over solvency. Conversations at SIBOS, the annual gathering of people in the business of liquidity delivery - payment system…
World Bank to "name and shame" remitters
The World Bank has launched an online database to "name and shame" providers of remittance services around the world.
Government still not at the SEPA table
European governments who fail to move on SEPA must be shamed into action, said Jean-Michel Godeffroy, the director general for payment systems at the European Central Bank.
China to be No.2 in payments
China could overtake the eurozone as the world's second biggest payments market early next decade, according to a new report.
Interview: Carlo Tresoldi
"Without intervention it will be difficult to meet the timescale of 2010 for migration to the new Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) instruments," Carlo Tresoldi told Centralbanknews.com on Tuesday.
Trends in large-value payments
New research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York identifies global trends in large-value payments.
Tumpel-Gugerell on SEPA for cards
Once SEPA for credit transfers and direct debits are in place, the European Payments Council will devote its full energy on to a harmonised and integrated cards market, said Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell, a member of the executive board of the European…
Interdependence requires payment overhaul
Central banks need to adjust their oversight of payment and settlement systems to the new reality of heightened interdependence in financial markets, said Haruyuki Toyama, a deputy director general at the Bank of Japan at SIBOS, an industry forum…
Zimbabwe permits shops to deal in foreign money
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on Thursday authorised a small number of the country's businesses to sell goods for foreign currency.
We may not meet 2009 SEPA deadline, say banks
European Union banks have said that the introduction of a single euro payments system (SEPA) could face delays after the European Commission ruled they would not be able to charge for facilitating cross-border direct-debit payments.
De La Rue's cash-systems arm renamed Talaris
Banknote printer De La Rue's cash-systems operations will be renamed Talaris following completion of the sale of the division to Carlyle, a private equity group.
World Bank's Cirasino says focus is on retail payments
Central banks must shift their focus to improving retail payments, says the head of the payment systems development group at the World Bank
An agent-based model of payment systems
A new research paper by the Bank of England lays out a multi-agent, multi-period model of a Real-Time-Gross-Settlement system.
Iran issues high-value notes, hints at reform
The Central Bank of Iran is swapping high-denomination paper notes for private banks' promissory notes in a bid to exert tighter control over the country's money supply as it plans broader currency reforms.
Israel sends fresh batch of banknotes to Gaza
The Bank of Israel has delivered a new supply of banknotes to the Gaza Strip to avert a cash shortage, say local media reports.
Azerbaijan revokes money-transfer ban
The National Bank of Azerbaijan has repealed a ban on remittances made through two of the money-transfer industry's biggest names.