Payments
Croatia makes it 25 central banks in Target2
The Croatian National Bank will, along with 24 commercial banks in the country, participate in the RTGS system from February 1, making it the fifth central bank outside the eurozone to join
Philippines central bank empowers micro-banking offices
Micro-banking offices can open deposit accounts under new measure; central bank reflects on measures taken to boost financial inclusion in 2015 and challenges ahead
UK payment systems regulator assesses compliance in first annual report
First PSR annual report shows progress is being made towards access and governance goals, but there are still areas for improvement
Bahraini central bank launches ‘almost real-time’ payments
Central Bank of Bahrain launches Electronic Fund Transfer System, comprising services for near real-time payments, deferred net settlement and bill aggregation
TCH and VocaLink set sights on US real-time payments
CEOs emphasise effort to create level playing field for 14,000 US financial institutions to access the system, as the firms finalise real-time payments deal
RMB now second most used payments currency between China and Japan
The Chinese currency more than doubles share of payments between China/Hong Kong and Japan in two years, eclipsing US and Hong Kong dollars while yen retains number one spot
Bank of Israel unveils real-time payments plan
New payments infrastructure will support push for advanced electronic payments; committee chair identifies plans for wide range of payments improvements, including real time
Payments industry body to implement instant payments in euros ‘by 2017’
The European Retail Payments Board encourages industry body to have a system of instant payments operational by November 2017
Distributed ledgers could impact FMIs, report finds
Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures report on digital currencies sees potential for technology to have a ‘much broader application beyond payments’
HKMA promotes 'entirely paperless' e-cheques in PR push
Central bank to raise awareness through multimedia infomercials ahead of December 7 launch; e-cheques will lead Hong Kong into new era of electronic payments, says HKMA deputy
ECB’s Mersch explores construction of instant payments services
Yves Mersch says Eurosystem envisages services being constructed on scheme, clearing, and settlement layers, and considers challenges involved in each
Cleveland Fed’s Mester lays out ‘considerable progress’ on payment systems initiative
Loretta Mester tells New York conference of progress in appointing leaders and accumulating members for faster payments and secure payments task forces
CLS starts settling Hungarian forint payments
After two years of preparation and testing, the forint joins the CLS universe
Bank of Israel smoothes way for new credit card players
Central bank moves to ease the process of entering the merchant acquiring and credit card market; aims to streamline licensing and expand ownership options
Bank Indonesia to update major payment platforms
Central bank will launch new versions of three systems, including the RTGS platform, on November 16, with a view to improving liquidity management
CLS sets go-live date for Hungarian forint
CLS and Hungary's central bank launched the forint project in February 2014
Vocalink to deliver ‘new generation’ real-time payments in US
CEO David Yates tells Central Banking there will be unique challenges to delivering real-time payments in the US, as Vocalink is chosen to provide software behind faster payments project
National Bank of Kazakhstan plans overhaul of interbank card payment infrastructure
Central bank looks to create new infrastructure for interbank card payments with the aim of improving the efficiency with which banks plug into clearing systems
RBA’s Richards gauges sentiment on card payments regulation
Head of payments policy highlights areas of ‘common ground’ in response to issues paper on card payments regulation, but also some ‘real differences’ between stakeholders
MAS's Menon hails local alternative to cash
MAS director says Singapore's electronic transfer system potentially 'safer and cheaper' than notes and coins; wants people to be able to make payments using social networks
Eurosystem to consider Target2 and T2S merger
Yves Mersch says officials will look into the potential for consolidating some components of the payments and securities settlement services; potential for one unified platform
Bank of Japan launches updated payments platform
New BoJ-NET system goes live tomorrow, days after launch of China's CIPS platform and RMB surpasses yen as global payments currency
Renminbi now fourth most-used world payment currency
The Chinese currency overtakes the yen with a share of 2.79% in global payments by value
China launches cross-border payments platform
Heavily anticipated China International Payment System goes live, with StanChart and ICBC Singapore announcing successful transactions on new platform