Clifford Chance

Ali Moussavi, Head of the Payment Strategy Unit at the Bank of England recently joined our Future of Digital Finance event jointly hosted with GBBC to deliver a keynote speech on the Bank of England's recent discussion paper on its approach to innovation in money and payments.

Our key takeaways:

• Ali highlighted the Bank of England's efforts to address the complexities of digital finance and innovation in money and payments, and the need for a comprehensive approach due to the interconnected nature of these topics previously sitting across various Bank departments. To tackle this, a dedicated Payment Strategy team was established to bring together different aspects such as stablecoins, CBDCs, and DLT, aiming to create a cohesive strategy.
• A key theme was the importance of integrating economics and central banking principles into the innovation agenda. Ali emphasised that innovation should not be a secondary objective but central to maintaining financial stability. This approach was reflected in the discussion paper, which focused in part on ensuring central bank money remains relevant and continues to anchor economic stability.
• The Bank of England has launched a programme of experiments to explore how central bank money can innovate and stay relevant in financial markets and to guide future developments. Two main areas of focus are the synchronisation interface, which ensures central bank money can interact with digital assets, and the concept of wholesale CBDC, with central bank money traveling on the same rails as digital assets.
• Ali also addressed the broader retail payments landscape, emphasizing the need for a holistic view of retail CBDC and its role relative to other innovations. The discussion paper includes a set of retail payments outcomes to ensure financial stability, including the singleness of money, resilience of financial market infrastructures, safe innovation, and effective governance and funding.
• Overall, the speech underscored the Bank of England's commitment to fostering innovation while maintaining financial stability, and invited feedback on their discussion paper by 31 October 2024 to shape the future of digital finance.

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Ali Moussavi, Head of the Payment Strategy Unit, Bank of England

Speaker:

• Ali Moussavi, Head of the Payment Strategy Unit, Bank of England

 

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You might also enjoy the keynote speech from Jon Relleen, Director of Infrastructure & Exchanges at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

See more from our Future of Digital Finance event.