CBPN Latest News
Cross-Border Payments
Riksbank: The Large Swedish Banks and the G20 Cost Targets for Cross-Border Payments
Sweden’s market for outgoing cross-border payments is among the largest in the world when measured relative to the size of its economy. We focus on the five largest banks in Sweden: Swedbank, Handelsbank, Nordea, SEB, and Danske Bank. The cost of cross-border payments is estimated by relying on bank...
Regulations
Digital Payments in Africa: Can Regulation Keep Up With Rapid Innovation?
Regulators in Africa are taking actions aimed at levelling the playing field and creating an enabling environment. For instance, the South African Reserve Bank’s National Systems Payments Department (NPSD) is spearheading reforms aimed at broadening fintech and non-bank participation in the national...
Innovation
Mastercard: Navigating Digital Borders – Unlocking the Benefits of Digital Innovation for Today’s Financial Ecosystem
The innovation that is underway across both financial and non-financial sectors, private and public, advanced and emerging economies has prompted many to consider how these disparate initiatives can be brought together. Critical to this discussion is therefore the need for solutions that can help to...
Instant Payments
The Evolution of the Instant Payment Network (IPN) in Egypt: The Success Story of InstaPay
Egypt’s digital payment revolution reflects a bold vision for financial modernization. Spearheaded by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the launch of the Instant Payment Network (IPN) represents a critical milestone toward building a cash-less economy. More than a technological shift, this initiative...
Cross-Border Payments
Cenfri: A Cross-Border Payments Masterplan for the East African Community
A Cross-Border Payments Masterplan for the East African Community – the flags for wholesale and retail modernisation are planted for the coming years, promising faster speed, lower cost, more transparency, and wider access for the people in East Africa if implemented
Cross-Border Payments
Reciprocity Isn’t Optional — It’s the Growth Strategy for Competitive Global Markets
Recent key discussions with regulators and policy makers have seen a growing call for harmonisation. It is important to consider the barriers standing in the way of functional equivalence and to understand why regulators and innovators alike should pursue and embrace reciprocity as a core strategy f...
Standardisation
Bridging Fragmentation: A Central Bank Imperative
This article examines the hidden costs of payment fragmentation, the imperative role of central banks in bridging these divides when driving standardization, and key considerations for designing an integrated, future-ready global payment infrastructure.
Instant Payments
The Dominican Republic: Towards a New Instant Payment System
Ángel González Tejada on how the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) is preparing to promote a new stage in the modernization of the Dominican Republic's Payment and Securities Settlement System (SIPARD) through the implementation of an instant payment system that will promote electronic p...
Artificial Intelligence
The Role of Financial Regulatory Agencies in Supervising Algorithmic Fairness in Transaction Monitoring
This article from Frans van Bruggen and Robert Schmitz explores the key issues regulators face in supervising algorithmic fairness in transaction monitoring. First, algorithmic fairness is a complex concept with multiple mathematical definitions, and different regulatory bodies may interpret fairnes...
In This Issue: June 2025
- A case study from the Riksbank’s Reimo Juks analyses end-user costs of cross-border payments at Sweden’s five largest banks, revealing key cost drivers and the role of competition in achieving the G20’s price benchmarks for card payments, remittances, and credit transfers.
- Keith Sabilika of South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority examines how African regulators are adapting to the continent’s digital payments revolution amid persistent challenges around fragmentation, access, cybersecurity, and interoperability.
- Mastercard’s Jesse McWaters and Joy Wann explore how integrating innovative technologies like blockchain and tokenisation with today’s infrastructure can enable efficiency gains across payments and financial markets.
- Jean-Michel Godeffroy reflects on the transformation of money and payments in his new book, “The Evolution of Money and Payments: From Commodity to Digital,” offering a clear and accessible analysis grounded in decades of experience at the ECB.
- A detailed recap of the recent Currency Conference and Digital Currency Conference in Bangkok, which highlighted the growing convergence between digital payments and physical cash.
- Plus, we catch you up on all the latest news, industry reports, noteworthy speeches, and more from the past month.
