Technology is reshaping money and payment systems in unprecedented ways. Catalysts include the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, the evolution of both decentralised and centralised technologies, the announcement of Libra in 2019, live trials of China’s Digital Yuan, and COVID-19, both in 2020.This...

DeFi – ‘Decentralized Finance' – has joined FinTech, RegTech, cryptocurrencies and digital assets as one of the most discussed emerging technological evolutions in global finance. Yet little is really understood about its meaning, legal implications and policy consequences. This article...

Funds equal to the amount of e-money issued are typically held on trust with commercial banks, and called the float. This paper analyses the policy options of a central bank in relation to the interest earned on the float. Despite e money being an established payment method, many regulators...

In 2009, Bitcoin created a world-first decentralised alternative currency that has spawned over 1,700 imitations by private parties. In 2018, governments finally joined the race, as Venezuela issued a world-first sovereign digital currency. Major economies like Canada, China, Singapore and the...

The transformative potential of distributed ledger technology, especially in the financial sector, is attracting enormous interest. Many financial institutions are investing heavily in proof of concept demonstrations and the rollout of pilot applications of DLT technology. Part of the attraction...

Despite years of effort, financial inclusion persists as a major challenge in the Pacific Island Countries (PICs), with many in the region still lacking access to financial services. This article argues that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) offer a potentially highly efficacious solution...

Many Pacific island countries are among the world’s most remote and geographically dispersed. As such, financial inclusion remains a major challenge, with many in the region still lacking access to financial services. This policy brief considers whether central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)...