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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

Regulating for Growth: Getting the Balance Right

Oliver Hanmer of the UK's Payment Systems Regulator looks at how regulators can support growth, innovation, and competition by striking the right balance between oversight and flexibility.