Reflecting Digitalization in Financial Sector Statistics

Source details

Session No.: CE 26.07
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Date: January 26-30, 2026 (1 week)
Delivery Method: In-person Training
Primary Language: English
Interpretation Language: Arabic
Deadline passed
Target Audience:
- Mid-level government officials from central banks, financial services supervisors and regulators and other agencies involved in financial sector statistics.
Qualifications:
- Participants are expected to have a degree in economics/finance or equivalent experience.
Course length:
- The course is a five-day course.

The IMF's Statistics Department, in cooperation with the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia Regional Capacity Development Center, will deliver a workshop focused on how digitalization is impacting financial sector statistics.
Emphasis on the transformation of the financial landscape driven by digitalization and the implications for statistical measurement, including:
- fintech companies
- mobile payments
- peer-to-peer lending platforms
- digital currencies
- crypto assets

Digitalization is presented as a fundamental transformation reshaping how financial services are delivered, consumed, and managed, not merely a technological shift.
Central statistical challenge:
- How to accurately capture and reflect rapidly evolving dynamics in financial sector statistics given traditional methodologies built around banks and insurance companies.
Need to update statistical methodological guidance and data collection to cover emerging instruments and market participants in order to preserve the stability and effectiveness of the financial system.

Workshop focus areas:
- Reflecting digitalization in financial sector statistics.
- Discussing emerging methodologies for capturing non-traditional financial instruments and participants.
- Underscoring collaborative effort between macroeconomic statisticians, regulators, policymakers, and the private sector to explore non-traditional data sources.
Emphasis on cross-stakeholder collaboration to adapt statistical frameworks and data collection practices.

Participants are expected to:
- Actively contribute to presentations on country practices and exercises.
Peer learning:
- Peer learning will be an essential element of the workshop.