Financial technology—fintech—opens opportunities to boost economic growth, especially for financial inclusion, but policymakers must also address the risks. Read the latest IMF research on these issues, including the future of digital currencies.
Event: Behind the Scenes on Central Bank Digital Currency
The Future of Money: Gearing up for Central Bank Digital Currency (Remarks by MD Kristalina Georgieva)
Managing Technology in Finance: Global Approaches for the Digital Age
The Exchange | The Future of Money
Global Financial Stability Report: The Crypto Ecosystem and Financial Stability Challenges
IMF Blog: Legally Speaking, is Digital Money Really Money?
G7 Working Group: Investigating the Impact of Global Stablecoins
Fintech Notes offer practical advice from IMF staff members to policymakers on important issues. The views expressed in Fintech Notes are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
The Chart of the Week brings together our economic forecasts, which reveal weaker growth amid an uncertain outlook with high downside risks
Rapid monetary policy tightening after years of low rates is exposing fault lines
Rising tensions could trigger cross-border capital outflows and increased uncertainty that would threaten macro-financial stability
NBFIs have emerged as key players in the financial sector, and global financial stability could hinge on their resilience as policy is tightened to tackle high inflation
Mobile money has been a lifeline for the unbanked population of low- and middle-income countries. Now, the spread of mobile money and other fintech could yield positive results for public health and safety.
Bo Li at the Peer-Learning Series on Digital Technologies and Digital Money in Asia and the Pacific on Cross-Border Digital Payment Systems: The Case of Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Beyond.
New Economy Forum: The Future of FinTech in Latin America
Peer-Learning Webinar Series on Digital Technologies/Money in Asia and the Pacific
Our latest Back to Basics video explains what are stablecoins and the risks they pose.
Foreign Policy’s Ravi Agrawal will interview IMF's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and the President and Founder of Eurasia Group, Ian Bremmer, on why the COVID-19 crisis is like no other.
As rising geopolitical tensions chip away at globalization, will a more fragmented world mean stronger regional pacts? Economist Michele Ruta says regionalism in a time of conflict is unlikely to triumph, but rather is likely to change. The trend toward strengthening ties with friends and loosening them with non-friends is making regional trade less about integration and more about discrimination. Transcript
Read the article in the IMF's Finance & Development Magazine
Industrial policy refers to a set of policies that governments use to bolster national industries or companies deemed strategically important for economic competitiveness, social outcomes, or national security. The approach has been used in many countries to create global giants like Huawei, General Electric, Volkswagen, and Airbus to name a few. Economist Ruchir Agarwal is currently studying industrial policy, among other things, at the Yale School of Management and Harvard Kennedy School. In this podcast, Agarwal says while the practice of choosing national champions fell out of favor in the 1980s, rising geopolitical tensions of late have sparked a renewed interest in industrial policy, which can be a guise for protectionism. Transcript
Read the article in Finance and Development Magazine
Financial stability is not only about managing inflation, employment rates and spending, it’s about understanding how those factors affect people in different places and in all kinds of circumstances. In this podcast, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, discusses how strategic partnerships between humanitarians and economists will help support the millions of forcefully displaced people in the world and provide a firmer footing for an economic recovery. Transcript
Learn more about IMF support for Fragile and Conflict-Affected States
The last few months have witnessed tensions in Europe's housing markets as the cost-of-living crisis has eroded real incomes and the surge in interest rates has made borrowers more vulnerable to financial distress. Laura Valderrama is a macro-financial expert and coauthor of new research that suggests house prices across Europe are overvalued, and housing markets are at risk of a price correction that could undermine the region's economic recovery. Transcript
Most countries have infrastructure and governance structures that allow the private sector to take advantage of new technologies to innovate and improve payment and financial services. But at the international level, it’s a different story. Cross-border payments are as slow, expensive, and risky as ever. IMF Financial Counsellor, Tobias Adrian, and coauthors published some new research on creating a Multi-Currency Exchange and Contracting Platform that would effectively transform the cross-border payment system. In this podcast, Adrian says payments are the foundation for the entire monetary and financial system, and new technologies can help get global payments right. Transcript
Cryptocurrencies have grabbed news headlines with their dramatic highs and lows, and their proponents argue they could revolutionize the financial system, making it faster and fairer. But is the cryptocurrency craze dragging us all into dangerous waters? Hilary Allen is a professor of law at American University and studies the impact of new financial technologies on financial stability. Allen is also the author of The Superficial Allure of Crypto published in the September edition of Finance and Development. In this podcast, Allen sits down with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe to discuss the risks associated with cryptocurrencies and why she thinks that they simply cannot deliver their claimed benefits. Transcript
