FMI
ECB announces public consultation on SWIFT
The European Central Bank announced on Wednesday 5 January that it was inviting the market to participate in the SWIFT public consultation on removing technical barriers to market integration.
Qatar to launch Payment Gateway early next year
Qatar's Central Bank (QCB) has said is will launch its Payment Gateway in early 2005 which will boost and ease e-commerce and e-transactions in Qatar.
SARB to issue upgraded banknotes in the new year
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) announced on Monday 13 December that it plans to issue upgraded banknotes with improved security features from 1 February 2005.
CLS Bank live with four additional currencies
CLS Bank International announced on Monday 6 December that it will settle payment instructions in four new currencies for the first time this week. This brings to fifteen the number of currencies eligible to settle through CLS Bank.
Fed says electronic payments exceed check payments
Surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve confirm that electronic payment transactions in the United States have exceeded check payments for the first time, the Financial Services Policy Committee said on Monday 6 December.
Towards a Single Euro Payments Area - 3rd report
In its third progress report on the single euro payment area (SEPA), published on Thursday 2 December, the Governing Council of the ECB assesses recent developments in the efforts to transform the still largely fragmented national retail payment systems…
RBA Payments System Board Annual Report 2004
The Reserve Bank of Australia Payments System Board has published its Annual Report for the year ended 2004. Over the past couple of years the Board's work in relation to the safety and stability of the payments system has focussed on the development of…
Revisions to Fed's payments systems risk policy
The Federal Reserve Board announced on Friday 26 November the approval of proposed revisions to its Policy on Payments System Risk (PSR Policy) addressing risk management in payments and securities settlement systems.
Bank of Canada issues new $50 banknote
The Bank of Canada put into circulation Canada's new $50 banknote on Wednesday 17 November. The new note will be distributed and become available across the country over the next few weeks.
Changes to New Zealand's `silver' coins?
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on 11 November details of proposals to modernise New Zealand's `silver' coloured coins. The Reserve Bank emphasised that no decisions have been made, and is now seeking feedback from the public.
Sweden to withdraw some older notes and coins
The Sveriges Riksbank announced on 9 November that the Riksdag (the Swedish parliament) decided on 27 October, following a proposal from the Riksbank, that some older series of banknotes and coins shall cease being legal tender after 31 December 2005.
Securities and clearing settlement systems
This ECB occasional paper "Governance of securities clearing and settlement systems" provides a description of the existing general approaches to corporate governance. It then identifies determinants of the corporate governance structures and mechanisms…
Central bank of Oman awards RTGS project to Imtac
The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has signed a contract for the implementation of Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) with Imtac LLC, a leading IT solutions vendor, the Times of Oman reported Tuesday.
Japan's Koizumi says steady recovery desirable
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Monday 1 November that he wants Japan's economy to recover "at a steady pace" as the central bank released redesigned and more secure banknotes for the first time in 20 years.
Issues paper for ECB conference on 10 Nov
In preparation for an internal conference on e-payments, the ECB has produced an issues paper entitled "E-payments without frontiers". The paper covers observations on innovation in retail payments, challenges to be faced before a mature and integrated…
Malaysia issues new polymer notes
Bank Negara Malaysia has issued 80 million pieces of the more durable RM5 polymer banknotes for circulation nationwide, Bank Negara assistant governor Datuk Mohamad Daud Dol Moin said.
Malaysia set to launch plastic money soon
Malaysia's central bank said on Thursday 21 October that it will launch plastic banknotes next week, joining a growing trend for the more durable 'paper' money.
Fed's Santomero on changes in US payments
In a speech on 'The Changing Pattern of Payments in the United States' given on 16 October, Anthony Santomero of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia discusses the current status of the U.S. payments infrastructure, how the roots and evolution of the…
Fed's Geithner on global payments challenges
In a speech on 'Challenges facing the global payments system' given on 14 October, Timothy Geithner of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York told the SIBOS 2004 Atlanta Conference more needs to be done by financial institutions to reduce the threat of…
Bank of Canada unveils new $50 banknote
The Bank of Canada on Wednesday 13 October unveiled Canada's new $50 banknote, the theme of which is Nation Building: shaping the political, legal, and social structures for democracy and equality.
New Hong Kong banknotes
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Sunday 10 October that the remaining three denominations, $20, $50 and $1,000, of the new series of Hong Kong banknotes will be put into circulation from 11 October 2004.
RBI spells out centralised cheque clearing system
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has detailed plans to set up a centralised clearing house system to provide an interface for image based inter-bank cheque truncation between presenting and drawee banks.
Safer, smarter, US $50 bill issued
Newly redesigned $50 notes arrive at banks beginning Tuesday 28 September ready to make their way into circulation and consumer wallets. Today marks the day the Federal Reserve System distributes the new note to banks and thus into the public's hands.
3rd SEACEN payment systems meeting ends
The 3rd Meeting of Southeast Asian Central Bank (SEACEN), Directors of Payment and Settlement System and the 3rd SEACEN-CPSS course on `Payment and Settlement for Emerging Economies' ended with a dinner at The Empire Hotel and Country Club in Brunei last…