Payments
2025: The year in central banking
A look back at the biggest and most popular stories of the year
Richard Doornbosch on central banking in a tempestuous climate
The president of the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten speaks to Christopher Jeffery about addressing legacy financial scandals, transition to a Caribbean guilder, tapping gold holdings and managing a currency peg at a time of US policy uncertainty
China to continue ‘moderately loose’ monetary policy in 2026
PBoC plans to work with other agencies in effort to boost consumption
BIS tests tokenised FX settlement in instant cross-border payments
Minimal tech upgrades proposed to link central bank money on DLT across Europe and Asia
Norway’s central bank latest to disavow CBDC
Currency would not be ‘appropriate’ to maintain krone’s monetary sovereignty, Norges Bank says
IMF has no mandate for SDR stablecoin, says Tobias Adrian
Fund’s capital markets head says backstops are also crucial if instruments are to live up to their name
Eurozone bank uncompetitiveness a ‘myth’ – Schnabel
Regulations have made lenders better, says ECB board member
IIF says China’s CBDC irrelevant to renminbi internationalisation
Economists say yuan’s use for payments growing, though it remains “stagnant” as reserve currency
Bank of Russia to scrap some FX transfer limits
Institution to lift restrictions four months early for citizens and foreigners from “friendly countries”
NBFIs could dent transmission – Bundesbank board member
Growing non-bank activity could diminish banking channel’s importance, says Köhler-Geib
Taiwan’s Yang says central bank money remains global ‘anchor’
Governor says it is still ‘ultimate settlement asset’, notwithstanding development of tokenisation
Permissionless payments may be the future – NY Fed study
Stablecoins’ accessibility makes them different from other fast payment options, say authors
Synchronisation can support tokenised securities settlement – BoE
But central bank says it is unclear whether it outperforms unified ledger
Serbia says sanctions on Russia pose financial stability risks
Central bank sounds warning as government threatens to divest Russian stakes in domestic oil refiner
Sarb finds ‘no compelling need’ for a retail CBDC
Central bank pivots towards wholesale version while modernising national payments system
HKMA asks Hong Kong’s banks to assist victims of apartment fire
Lenders requested to offer liquidity, repayment flexibility and replace documents for those affected
ECB in no hurry with new structural operations – Välimäki
Portfolio will first need to be reduced ‘considerably’, says bank's alternate board member
BSP remains cautious about stablecoins as proposals roll in
Deputy governor says most submissions are for dollar-backed assets focused on retail use
Central banks must respond to challenges of digital innovation – panel
Central Banking Autumn Meetings panel looks at how stablecoins, CBDCs and AI are shaping decision-making
ECB moves to link Tips with India’s UPI and Nexus
Connection with Nexus still hinges on ECB exploring potential ‘feasibility’
BoE, MAS and BoT to test synchronised FX settlement
Project will use ‘synchronisation operator’ to achieve atomic settlement