Payments in a Transformational Era - Strategy and Resilience

The changes in the world of retail payments are unprecedented. Driven by technological innovations the global landscape for payments changes rapidly. Banks and market infrastructures have to adapt their policies, also because – both on a national and international scale - new entrants in the market challenge their positions.

Obviously, central banks are also affected, e.g. as operator of the RTGS system, but also as supplier of cash money. With the ongoing digitalization the question arises whether we should prepare for a cashless society. The Netherlands is one of the countries where the share of cash payments has declined most rapidly, to a level of only 20%. Is this desirable? What does it mean for specific groups like the elderly people?
Digital payments offer of course also a lot of advantages, both in terms of ease of use, efficiency, safety. Globalization and technological innovations offer plenty opportunities to strengthen these advantages. But there can also be adverse effects if the consequences and risks are not addressed adequately. Central banks are thus presented with major challenges, both in terms of strategic choices as well as of fostering resilience, including oversight policies.

The webinar presents an overview of the strategy discussions, on the level of the Eurosystem and of The Netherlands. We consider both cash and non-cash payments, including the CBDC discussions. Special attention will be given to the practical implementation of policies and strategies in The Netherlands.