New Technologies, Financial Inclusion, and Monetary Policy in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA)

July 12-13, 2021

This webinar was co-hosted by the IMF and the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee. In their opening remarks, Jihad Azour (Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF) and Marc Uzan (Executive Director, Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee) emphasized the importance of increasing financial inclusion and strengthening monetary policy frameworks in the Caucuses and Central Asia (CCA), and that digital payment and financial services can help advance these priorities in the region. The discussions built on lessons from international experience in managing these challenges and opportunities and helped inform regulatory and policy reforms in CCA countries.

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Session I: Fintech and Financial Inclusion

With bank balance sheets impaired due to the COVID crisis, non-bank financing sources will gain importance in supporting credit and economic growth. Digital financial services can fill gaps and support greater reach and continuity of financial services, but robust legal and regulatory frameworks are needed to mitigate potential risks. A presentation was given by Dong He (Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF) and discussed by Anna Zelentsova (Co-chair, G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion), Ousmene Mandeng (Senior Advisor, Global Blockchain Technology, Accenture), and Mikhail Lomtadze (CEO & Chief Ecosystem Officer, Kaspi.kz).

Learn more:

- Watch the session below.
- Read the key takeaways of the discussion: click here
- Download Dong He's presentation: click here
- Download Mikhail Lomtadze's presentation: click here


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Session II: Financial Inclusion and Monetary Transmission

This session focused on the two-way relationship between monetary policy and financial inclusion. Price stability is an important driver of financial inclusion, while low financial inclusion weakens a central bank’s ability to manage aggregate demand. A presentation was given by Leonardo Gambacorta (Head, Innovation and the Digital Economy, BIS) and discussed by Martin Galstyan (Chairman, Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia), Thorsten Beck (Professor and Director, Florence School of Banking and Finance, European University Institute), and Binur Zhalenov (Chairman, Board of Payments & FinTech Research and Development Center, National Bank of Kazakhstan).

Learn more:

- Watch the session below.
- Read the key takeaways of the discussion: click here
- Download Leonardo Gambacorta's presentation: click here
- Download Thorsten Beck's presentation: click here


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Session III: New Technologies and Monetary Policy Frameworks

At a time when many central banks in the CCA region are transitioning to inflation targeting, the development of digital payments and money raises new policy questions, opportunities, and tradeoffs regarding price stability, employment, financial intermediation, and credit. These changes are highly uncertain and may have unintended consequences. A presentation was given by Denis Beau (Senior Deputy Governor, Banque de France) and discussed by Thomas Moser (Alternate Member of the Governing Board, Swiss National Bank).

Learn more:

- Watch the session below.
- Read the key takeaways of the discussion: click here
- Download Denis Beau's presentation: click here
- Download Thomas Moser's presentation: click here


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Session IV: CCA Countries and the Global Agenda on Digital Payments and Financial Services

CCA countries need to prepare for the rapid development of digital payment and financial services. Support from the international community and lessons from other countries can help them benefit from the new opportunities while avoiding potential pitfalls. The IMF has a unique role to help its global membership in integrating these technologies into broader macro-financial policy and regulatory reforms. Tobias Adrian (Director and Counsellor, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF) was interviewed by Nicolas Blancher (Central Asia Division Chief, Middle East and Central Asia Department, IMF).

Learn more:

- Watch the session below.
- Read the key takeaways of the discussion: click here