The global payments ecosystem is at a critical juncture, with interoperability, interlinking, accessibility, and collaboration top of mind for 2023. We’re pleased to present the second annual Central Bank Payments News supplement, a collection of updates…

In this article, John Kiff provides a view of how offline digital currencies work based on publicly-available information provided in academic papers and vendor white papers.

The past decade has been a game-changer for Jordan's financial ecosystem, especially in terms of digital financial services and financial technology. In the first half of the decade, the country saw major developments in digital infrastructure, legislative…

In part two of our interview with Ledia Bregu, Director of Payment Systems, Accounting and Finance Department for the Bank of Albania (BoA), the conversation turned to AIPS EURO, a new payments infrastructure launched in 2022, Albania’s EU membership…

The Feature article in the August 2020 issue of Central Bank Payments News (CBPN) was authored by the Bank of Albania’s Ledia Bregu. At the time, Albania was less than half-way through its National Retail Payments Strategy, 2018–2023, an ambitious document…

Named after the Swahili word for “one,” the Mojaloop open-source software project was established in 2017 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to address the lack of guaranteed inclusiveness and interoperability within nations’ payment systems to allow…

AFI’s eight South Asian member institutions came together at the Global Policy Forum (GPF) in September 2022 to launch the South Asia Region Financial Inclusion Initiative (SARFII). With AFI coordinating and facilitating the initiative, members are collaborating…

In this article, we will focus on the various aspects of CBDC that can help drive digitization and promote responsible innovation. We believe digitization will help drive new value created in the global economy in the coming decade. However, the rate…

In this series of articles, the Central Bank of Kenya explores recent developments in payments in Kenya, in line with the Bank’s vision of being A World Class Modern Central Bank. The country's payments ecosystem has undergone major developments and shifts…

The National Bank of Kazakhstan is building payment and digital financial infrastructure in the interests of everyone. These projects are aimed to stimulate competition, increase security and convenience, and, importantly, reduce the cost of financial…