Payments
Bank of Israel unveils real-time payments plan
New payments infrastructure will support push for advanced electronic payments; committee chair identifies plans for wide range of payments improvements, including real time
Payments industry body to implement instant payments in euros ‘by 2017’
The European Retail Payments Board encourages industry body to have a system of instant payments operational by November 2017
Distributed ledgers could impact FMIs, report finds
Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures report on digital currencies sees potential for technology to have a ‘much broader application beyond payments’
HKMA promotes 'entirely paperless' e-cheques in PR push
Central bank to raise awareness through multimedia infomercials ahead of December 7 launch; e-cheques will lead Hong Kong into new era of electronic payments, says HKMA deputy
ECB’s Mersch explores construction of instant payments services
Yves Mersch says Eurosystem envisages services being constructed on scheme, clearing, and settlement layers, and considers challenges involved in each
Cleveland Fed’s Mester lays out ‘considerable progress’ on payment systems initiative
Loretta Mester tells New York conference of progress in appointing leaders and accumulating members for faster payments and secure payments task forces
CLS starts settling Hungarian forint payments
After two years of preparation and testing, the forint joins the CLS universe
Bank of Israel smoothes way for new credit card players
Central bank moves to ease the process of entering the merchant acquiring and credit card market; aims to streamline licensing and expand ownership options
Bank Indonesia to update major payment platforms
Central bank will launch new versions of three systems, including the RTGS platform, on November 16, with a view to improving liquidity management
CLS sets go-live date for Hungarian forint
CLS and Hungary's central bank launched the forint project in February 2014
Vocalink to deliver ‘new generation’ real-time payments in US
CEO David Yates tells Central Banking there will be unique challenges to delivering real-time payments in the US, as Vocalink is chosen to provide software behind faster payments project
National Bank of Kazakhstan plans overhaul of interbank card payment infrastructure
Central bank looks to create new infrastructure for interbank card payments with the aim of improving the efficiency with which banks plug into clearing systems
RBA’s Richards gauges sentiment on card payments regulation
Head of payments policy highlights areas of ‘common ground’ in response to issues paper on card payments regulation, but also some ‘real differences’ between stakeholders
MAS's Menon hails local alternative to cash
MAS director says Singapore's electronic transfer system potentially 'safer and cheaper' than notes and coins; wants people to be able to make payments using social networks
Eurosystem to consider Target2 and T2S merger
Yves Mersch says officials will look into the potential for consolidating some components of the payments and securities settlement services; potential for one unified platform
Bank of Japan launches updated payments platform
New BoJ-NET system goes live tomorrow, days after launch of China's CIPS platform and RMB surpasses yen as global payments currency
Renminbi now fourth most-used world payment currency
The Chinese currency overtakes the yen with a share of 2.79% in global payments by value
China launches cross-border payments platform
Heavily anticipated China International Payment System goes live, with StanChart and ICBC Singapore announcing successful transactions on new platform
DNB director targets better measurement of inclusion
Frank Elderson emphasises the benefits of financial inclusion and says central bank will put forward proposals for financial inclusion index later this week
CPMI launches plan to halt correspondent banking decline
Consultation begins on measures designed to resist the decline of correspondent banking, which is threatening to fragment international payments and damage financial inclusion
Paraguayan central bank plans to expand new database
Central Bank of Paraguay aims to include wider range of data in new online platform, which was launched last week to ‘favourable reception’
Fed board approves changes to same-day ACH service
Institutions that receive payments through the ACH network will have to participate in same-day service, but will be compensated by a new interbank fee levied on originators
BoE says cash unlikely to ‘die out’
An article in the Bank of England's quarterly bulletin illustrates the continuing use of cash in the UK, despite the introduction of new payment technologies over the last decade
CPMI and World Bank say transaction accounts are key to financial inclusion
Joint CPMI-World Bank report stresses importance of transaction accounts in promoting financial inclusion, and offers policy advice for countries looking to improve access to financial services