Fintech
HKMA launches next phase of CBDC pilot and sandbox
Hong Kong project will explore programmability, tokenisation and atomic settlement
Has mobile money achieved what retail CBDCs aspire to?
Central Banking Spring Meetings: Fintech panellists discuss financial inclusion and bank casualties
Fintech Benchmarks 2024 report – the promise and threat of AI
Benchmark data reveals how central banks are developing CBDC, tapping into AI tools and using cloud services to boost their work
Book notes: Number go up: inside crypto’s wild rise and staggering fall, by Zeke Faux
The book would be a great, comic obituary of crypto, if only crypto were dead
Most central banks’ cloud services are software-focused
Operational environment is largely hybrid and public, while access to server is often domestic
Fintech employees trained in AI in just over one-third of central banks
Senior management staff are least trained across jurisdictions
AI being adopted in over half of central banks
Supervision, document automation, data analysis and research are primary areas of use
Regtech strategy still lacking in majority of central banks
Stress testing, AML/CFT risk and reporting are top areas of application
Asian central banks co-ordinating CBDC work in ‘near real time’
RBI deputy governor says Seacen members tend to use public-key cryptography in their design
Suptech strategy adoption remains below 50%
Resource constraints and data quality issues are still barriers
Nearly all central banks see CBDC as environmentally friendly
Few jurisdictions see initiative as comparable to banknotes’ lifecycle
Turkey’s digital lira to use ‘programmable payments’
Intermediaries will offer related services, though these may differ across providers
Central banks fear CBDC will heighten cyber threats
European jurisdictions less likely to be deterred by security concerns
Improving domestic payments efficiency drives retail CBDC research
Barriers to adoption include concerns around privacy, disintermediation and operational risk
RBI extends deadline for Paytm to close lender
Central bank continues to target fintech for “persistent non-compliance”
Wholesale CBDC work remains less popular than retail
Like retail, central banks say domestic payments efficiency is key driver
EU considering shift to T+1 or T+0 – Cipollone
ECB board member says markets are on brink of “significant shift” in digital settlement
One in four central banks exploring blockchain, DLT and tokenisation
No respondents say they are researching or collaborating on quantum computing
US sanctions firms for smuggling tech to Iran’s central bank
Central bank subsidiary that developed Iran’s digital currency platform among those targeted
Cyber security and adapting legacy systems are top tech challenges
Recruiting talent and regulating the fast-paced sector are also difficult
Legal mandates for CBDC issuance remain rare among central banks
Some await parliamentary approval as framework examination commences in their jurisdictions
More than half of central banks have a fintech strategy
Implementation challenged by poor regulation and talent scarcity