Commentary
Monetary policy staff pay highest in advanced economy institutions
Staff in monetary operations tend to earn slightly less than policy colleagues
Monetary policy set a maximum of 12 times a year
Frequency of meetings highest on average in upper-middle income economies
Asset purchases used in only a handful of jurisdictions
Data shows small decline relative to 2021, which may reflect exit from pandemic stimulus
Quarterly forecast updates are the norm at central banks
Forecasting tends to be a collaborative exercise between staff and policy-makers
Monetary policy press conferences more common than minutes
High income institutions trail behind middle income banks on minutes publication
Corridor system used by most central banks to set rates
But methods vary widely depending on policy target and tools such as quantitative easing
Monetary policy and ops divisions mostly segmented
Nine in 10 institutions separate units in the Americas, Asia and Europe
Covid impacting monetary policy most in middle income countries
Most central banks report shifting stance at the height of pandemic, but some have since reverted
Non-bank access to RTGS systems still rare
Only a handful of central banks allow non-bank users
Nearly 30% of central banks implementing instant payments
Over half of respondents already oversee or operate instant payments
High income countries have larger share of staff devoted to payments
Structure of central banks’ payments sections differs across institutions
Payments oversight more difficult in poorer nations
Lower income central banks more likely to feel they need more resources
Average RTGS system processes millions of payments yearly
Benchmarking data shows wide range of transaction volumes
Less than 10% of RTGS systems meet ISO 20022
Most non-compliant central banks plan to implement messaging protocol by 2025
Most central banks have oversight of non-bank payments systems
Less than half have oversight of non-bank fintech service providers
Some central banks directly regulate RTGS prices
Direct intervention in pricing of other payments means is less common, benchmark respondents say
Few central banks offer free RTGS transactions
Most central banks use a mix of fixed and variable fees to recoup RTGS operating costs
Round-the-clock RTGS operation still uncommon
Most central banks keep core settlement system running for 7–12 hours each day
Central banks use many third parties for payments projects
Respondents mention various providers, with Montran the most frequently cited
Three-quarters of central banks exploring CBDCs for retail payments
Though research is common, only a few have moved to pilot or roll out the technology