Opening Remarks by First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath at “At the Frontier: India's Digital Payment System and Beyond”
IMF News, June 2, 2022
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- Opening Remarks by First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath at “At the Frontier: India's Digital Payment System and Beyond”
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Bibliographic details
- Published: June 2, 2022
Overview and context
- As Prepared for Delivery: June 2, 2022.
- The webinar brings together domestic and international perspectives on digital payments and how to manage to reap the benefits while containing risks.
- The rise of digital payments represents a transformation that has been accelerated by the pandemic, with potential for lowering transaction costs, increasing transaction speed, and improving access and transparency.
- The event is described as "the first of a fantastic series of events on digital technologies and digital money in the Asia Pacific region."
Key findings and concerns
- Digital payment innovations can yield significant economic benefits but also pose risks; it is "vital that we get it right: learning lessons from what has and hasn’t worked, sharing knowledge about effective policy approaches, and carefully considering the risks."
- One of the biggest risks identified by the IMF is fragmentation of the international payment system, "fractured into different blocs due to geopolitical competition."
- The disruptions and uncertainty of the war in Ukraine and its economic shockwaves have "significantly heightened this risk."
- Opportunities:
- Digital technologies as a catalyst for financial inclusion and cross border payments.
- New payment platforms may enable easier and faster flow of digital money across borders, available to more people.
- Possibility to connect various forms of money, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
- Desired outcomes for digital platforms: minimal cost, maximum speed and safety, and a balance between efficiency, security and stability while avoiding fragmentation.
IMF work, policy orientation, and recommendations
- The IMF has "bolstered our efforts to analyze the impact of digital money on the international monetary and payment systems."
- The Fund is "working to propose policy and regulatory solutions," reflecting a commitment to learning and adapting to help member countries deal with evolving economic challenges.
- Policy emphasis:
- Global collaboration to develop global public digital platforms — "new pieces of payment infrastructure with clear rules" — to facilitate low-cost, rapid, safe transfers including across borders.
- Design platforms to achieve a balance between efficiency, security and stability while avoiding fragmentation.
- Consider geopolitical and security issues when designing policies to minimize economic impact.
Event program and speakers
- RBI Deputy Governor Rabi Sankar provided the keynote on the RBI’s broader strategy for the financial sector and insights into India's payment landscape, including the potential role of CBDCs.
- IMF speakers and sequence:
- Dong He (IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets department) to provide an overview on Digitalization of Money and Payments at a global level.
- Chief General Manager of the RBI, Manager Vasudevan, to provide a focused review of the payments landscape in India, including potential future role for a CBDC in the Indian context.
- Additional participants:
- Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore.
- Dilip Asbe, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, National Payments Corporation of India.
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Paytm.
- The webinar was organized with support from the IMF regional institute in Singapore and SARTTAC in Delhi together with relevant IMF departments.
Logistics and media contact
- IMF Communications Department, MEDIA RELATIONS.
- PRESS OFFICER: Phone: +1 202 623-7100 Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
- Social: @IMFSpokesperson
- Attendees were thanked and the moderator was Anne Marie Gulde Wolf.
Opening Remarks by First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath at “At the Frontier: India's Digital Payment System and Beyond”, As Prepared for Delivery, June 2, 2022.