Digital technology has been used in finance for some time. But recent advancements in the recording and settlement of assets – whether these are money or securities – has opened new opportunities and raised new risks. New firms, and even open-source developer communities, have introduced new digital assets such as crypto assets, stablecoins, and eMoney, some of which can be used for payments. Financial firms are also issuing and transacting assets on new infrastructures leveraging distributed ledger technologies. Questions emerge relative to their interoperability within and across borders. Finally, central banks are naturally considering how to make central bank money available in new digital forms and on new infrastructures. Macro-financial implications, such as on capital flows and currency use, must also be understood and managed. The same goes for risks to financial stability, financial integrity, and consumer protection for instance.
As the international organization created to promote international monetary cooperation and oversee the stability of the international monetary system, as well as contribute to countries’ economic and financial stability, the IMF plays a key role in this new and evolving space.
Cross-border payments are the lifeblood of the global economy, facilitating remittances, business transactions, and the movement of capital that fuels development. But the infrastructure is creaking. And it is missing for many people around the world. Today, with our existing technology, we can take a significant step forward to improve retail cross-border payments.
Fintech Notes offer practical advice from IMF staff members to policymakers on important issues. The views expressed in Fintech Notes are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
The IMF’s CBDC Virtual Handbook is a reference guide for policymakers and experts at central banks and ministries of finance. It serves as a basis for capacity development delivery, aiming to share knowledge, lessons, and frameworks to address policymakers’ most frequently asked questions concerning central bank digital currencies. As our body of knowledge and analysis grows, we will continue to add about five chapters every year aiming to provide about twenty chapters by 2026. Moreover, chapters will be periodically updated, reflecting evolving views.
19 countries in the Middle East and Central Asia are exploring issuing a CBDC
A cautious step-by-step approach would help the region explore new technologies effectively to deliver economic and social gains while managing risks
Prospects for growth, prices and interest rates enjoyed the greatest reader interest, followed by fossil fuel subsidies and the implications of geoeconomic fragmentation
Many of the world’s monetary authorities are seeking more guidance on how best to pursue digital forms of central bank money
This 45-minute talk will focus on capacity building conducted by the IMF to support financial authorities in harnessing the benefits of electronic money (e-money) while managing the risks.
As digitalization continues to impact the future of money and the exchange of value, effective policy and regulation are needed to ensure a stable and equitable financial system.
Tokenisation is making inroads into the regulated financial sector. Regulated private institutions and the public sector are investing in initiatives that cover a number of use cases, which is resulting in new infrastructures and platforms.
This session discusses how to improve cross-border payments including by facilitating links between fast payment systems, and will review experience and lessons from the field
A keynote address by the IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at the 2023 Singapore Fintech Festival.
As digitalization continues to impact the future of money and the exchange of value, effective policy and regulation are needed to ensure a stable and equitable financial system.
Countries with better institutions are more prosperous. A truism perhaps, but then why are they so hard to build and sustain? That is the question that Simon Johnson has sought to explain since the fall of communism and the basis for the research that won him the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. Johnson, a former IMF chief economist, now a professor at MIT in the Sloan School of Management, shares the award with James Robinson and Daron Acemoglu, who’s also coauthor of his latest book Power and Progress, which challenges the assumption that technology equals progress. In this podcast, Johnson says when controlled by a select few, tech innovation can be self-serving and risk undermining the institutions that make it possible. Transcript
Stories can unify or divide but our ability to imagine them is uniquely human. Cooperation and trust, built through shared stories and narratives, are the foundation of human societies and economies. So what happens when humans no longer hold the pen? Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and author of several books on human evolution, including Sapiens, and Nexus: A brief history of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. In this podcast, Harari says artificial intelligence is a risk to humankind’s most valuable resource, trust. Transcript
Read the article in Finance and Development Magazine
It wasn’t that long ago when retiring in one’s 50s was an achievable goal. But with life expectancy steadily rising and pension systems doomed to fall short, the prospects for an early retirement are fading fast. Olivia Mitchell wrote the book on retirement and modern pension research and has spent her career helping people improve their financial literacy. Mitchell is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She sat down with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe to discuss the challenges of today’s economy for Americans planning their golden years. Transcript
Read Olivia Mitchell’s profile in the IMF’s Finance and Development Magazine
Nigeria’s eNaira was the first Central Bank Digital Currency in Africa and only the second in the world when it launched in October 2021, but a growing number of countries across the globe are now planning to follow suit with their own CBDCs. What can they learn from Nigeria’s experience? Jookyung Ree is an economist in the IMF African Department and assigned to Nigeria when the CBDC was introduced. Ree has since studied its impact on the economy and found that existing mobile money networks are proving a challenge to the eNaira’s adoptability. In this podcast, Ree says the eNaira will need to complement mobile money systems to convince more Nigerians to use it. Transcript
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