Fintech
Fintech & IT Benchmarks 2021 report – detailing the evolution of technology
Benchmarking data sheds light on staffing trends, priority areas of research and more
ECB’s digital euro consultation says public worried over privacy
Nearly half of responses to ECB come from Germany
Most central banks spend less than 20% of their IT budget on security
Average spend was 16% of IT budget
Regulating big tech and non-bank financial services in the digital era
Experiences from China highlight potential benefits of digital-bank and holding-company approaches
AML/CFT regulation of crypto assets needs rapid reform – BIS report
Few jurisdictions are implementing “travel rule” for crypto assets, report says
Central banks take less than 50 minutes to fix critical outages
Time tolerances for critical system downtime range from one to 32 hours
Average IT salaries are highest in Europe
Pay varies by income of institutions’ host economies
Cuban central bank approves new money transfer app
Digital wallet offered by Cuban telecoms firm will only receive and pay out in pesos
Riksbank prepares for second phase of e-krona pilot
Next phase will explore whether blockchain can handle scaled-up retail payments
Payment innovation is top fintech research priority for central banks
CBDC ranked second as central banks explore wider implications of fintech for payments
High income economy central banks’ technology costs vary widely
Some central banks in advanced economies have kept costs as low as those in poorer nations
Large economy central banks more likely to employ CTO
Slight majority of central banks employ CTO, but differences are clearer when sorted by GDP
ECCB launches live CBDC pilot
Blockchain-issued DCash is the world’s first CBDC within a currency union
Most central banks do not have dedicated fintech departments
Fintech operations tend to be spread across departments
Central banks considering interlinked CBDC options
Agustín Carstens presents results of cross-border CBDC survey
Central banks hired more fintech staff in 2020
Significant proportion of central banks are yet to establish dedicated fintech teams
Most central banks hold annual cyber security training sessions
One-third of central banks hold training every 0–6 months
Cyber security and retaining top talent are biggest tech challenges
Keeping abreast of fintech developments also tests institutions
Central banks use varied cyber defence playbook
Cyber security training for central bank staff occurs at least once a year
Bank of Jamaica announces prototype CBDC partner
Irish firm eCurrency Mint will provide technology that connects with central bank’s RTGS system
Sandboxes are most popular fintech initiatives used by central banks
Almost 50% of central bank respondents operate sandbox environment
A bellwether moment for CBDC plans
Launch of ‘sand dollar’ may herald a new era of CBDCs as Fed and ECB step up their preparations
Nine in 10 central banks are working on CBDCs
Very few central banks have progressed past the research phase, but those that do are working on general purpose variants