CPMI examines central banks’ role as new payment systems reshape risk

What happened

The BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) published a report on 29 October examining how central banks can support payment system safety and efficiency as technology, user demand and new providers reshape the sector.

The report, The roles of central banks and central bank money in the evolving payment system, covers fast payment systems, non-bank payment service providers, tokenised deposits, stablecoins and programmable platforms.

According to the CPMI, more diverse payment arrangements can improve efficiency, competition and innovation. However, they can also create new interdependencies and change how credit, liquidity, operational and cyber risks arise and spread.

Why it matters

For banks, fintechs and payment providers, the report identifies policy questions concerning access to central bank accounts, settlement infrastructure and oversight of emerging arrangements.

It sets out four areas for central banks to consider:

• As issuers: which entities should have access to central bank accounts, for which services and on what terms.
• As operators: whether to modernise existing infrastructure or develop new platforms, balancing resilience, innovation and implementation risks.
• As overseers: whether stablecoin and tokenised arrangements perform functions similar to financial market infrastructures, and how to assess their systemic importance, governance and operational resilience.
• As catalysts: how to convene stakeholders, address collective action problems and encourage common standards and market solutions.

The analysis reaffirms central bank money as the safest and most liquid settlement asset for systemically important systems and a foundation for convertibility at par between different means of payment. It also stresses the complementary role of private providers in promoting innovation, competition and user choice.

Context / What to watch

The report builds on a 2003 analysis by the CPMI’s predecessor and follows the BIS and CPMI’s October 2024 report to the G20 on tokenisation.

Rather than treating policy choices separately, it calls for a holistic, forward-looking approach that recognises how decisions in one area affect others. With central bank policies potentially differing across jurisdictions, the CPMI emphasises sustained international cooperation in an increasingly interconnected payments ecosystem.