## Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar on Digital Money and Payments in Transition

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar on Digital Money and Payments in Transition](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/resrep/oap-home/2025/aprs-on-digital-money-and-payments-in-transition-1121)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/countries/resrep/oap-home/2025/aprs-on-digital-money-and-payments-in-transition-1121/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/countries/resrep/oap-home/2025/aprs-on-digital-money-and-payments-in-transition-1121/index.json)
- [Bundle manifest](/en/countries/resrep/oap-home/2025/aprs-on-digital-money-and-payments-in-transition-1121/bundle-manifest.json)

### Contact

For event inquiries:  
International Monetary Fund  
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific  
Tel. 81-(0)3-3597-6700  
Email: [OAPEconomicSeminar@IMF.org](mailto:OAPEconomicSeminar@imf.org)

---

### Overview and key themes
- The landscape of digital money and payments has undergone significant transformation driven by technological advances and evolving financial needs.
- Recent developments in crypto assets, including stablecoins, and progress in tokenization offer potential benefits while also posing risks to financial stability.
- Technological innovation is likely to accelerate further in the coming years and result in new digital solutions for payments and financial intermediation.
- There is a growing recognition of the importance of a reference guide and technical assistance to help countries develop sound policy frameworks for digital money and payments.
- The seminar focused on Asia-Pacific region issues, with particular attention to Pacific Islands Countries (PICs).

### Organizers and cooperation
- Hosted by the IMF's Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (OAP).
- Organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Japan, and the Bank of Japan.
- The IMF’s CBDC Virtual Handbook, supported by the Government of Japan, is presented as a reference guide and a “living” document for policymakers and experts.

### Seminar objectives and focus areas
- Introduce six new chapters on CBDC providing insights on:
  - financial stability,
  - payments competition,
  - financial integrity,
  - legal considerations,
  - tokenized reserves,
  - payment resilience in fragile and conflict-affected states.
- Highlight developments in cross-border payments and implications for the Asia-Pacific region.
- Explore how global innovations (stablecoins, tokenization) can be translated into practical solutions addressing regional needs and challenges in PICs.
- Signal the IMF’s ramping up of technical assistance to emerging and developing countries.

### Structure and format
- There will be no specific Q&A sessions during the seminar.
- Two sessions featuring IMF Monetary and Capital Markets Department speakers and discussants from public sector authorities in Japan and other Asia-Pacific countries.

### Speakers and roles (selected biographical highlights)
- Takashi Nagaoka — Moderator
  - Director of the IMF’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
  - Previously worked in the Japanese government including Financial Services Agency; served in the IMF as an economist (1999-2002).
  - Holds an LL.B. from the University of Tokyo and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

- Session 1 speakers and discussants
  - Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli — Assistant Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF
    - Focus: digital currencies and payments, monetary policy, foreign exchange interventions, modelling, central banking operations and communication.
    - Prior roles: Swiss National Bank, Goldman Sachs, Boston Consulting Group, technology startups.
    - Holds a PhD from the Graduate Institute in Geneva; prior degrees from the London School of Economics and Stanford University.
  - Mamerto E. Tangonan — Deputy Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (PCMS)
    - Heads Payments and Currency Management Sector covering: interplay between digital money and physical currency; digital transformation of national payment systems; operation of the Peso RTGS payment system; currency production and gold refinery facility.
    - Over three decades of experience across digital and traditional financial services and telecommunications.
    - Civil engineer by education; completed programs at the Asian Institute of Management, Harvard Kennedy School, and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
  - Shigeru Shimizu — Deputy Director General, Payment and Settlement Systems Department, Bank of Japan
    - Focus: development and implementation of payment systems, including study of CBDCs.
    - Joined the Bank in 1996; extensive experience in G7 and G20 coordination, liquidity risk management during the 2008 financial crisis, and Basel III implementation.
    - Holds a law degree from the University of Tokyo and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University.

- Session 2 speakers and discussants
  - Tobias Adrian — Financial Counsellor and Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF
    - Leads IMF work on financial sector surveillance, monetary and macroprudential policies, digital money, financial regulation, debt management, and climate finance.
    - Prior roles: Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Associate Director of the Research and Statistics Group.
    - Holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MSc from the London School of Economics.
  - Elizabeth Genia — Governor, Bank of Papua New Guinea
    - First female Governor; appointed in December 2023 for a term of four years.
    - Prior role: Assistant-Governor Corporate Affairs Group; led development of Gender Equity and Social Inclusion Policy.
    - Holds an MBA from the University of Queensland and a Graduate Certificate in the Fintech Program from the Said Business School, University of Oxford.
  - Esala Masitabua — Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Fiji
    - Appointed Deputy Governor on 1 January 2018.
    - Career central banker at the Reserve Bank of Fiji since 1997; seconded to the IMF in October 2023 as Advisor to the Executive Director, South East Asian Constituency; resumed role as Deputy Governor on 12 November, 2025.

- Closing remarks
  - Hideaki Imamura — Senior Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs (since July 2025)
    - Responsible for multilateral policy coordination including G20, G7 and the IMF and bilateral cooperation with advanced economies.
    - Joined Japan Ministry of Finance in 1993; former Executive Director for Japan at the World Bank Group.
    - Holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Tokyo and a Master of Arts in Applied Economics from the University of Michigan (1997).

### Agenda and timing
- 10:00 AM — Welcome & Introduction; Takashi Nagaoka, Director, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, IMF
- 10:05 AM — Central Bank Digital Currency: Further Navigating Challenges and Opportunities
  - Speaker: Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli, Assistant Director, Monetary Capital Market Department, IMF; Presentation
  - Discussants: Mamerto E. Tangonan, Deputy Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Online); Presentation; Shigeru Shimizu, Deputy Director-General of Payment and Settlement Department, Bank of Japan
  - Session notes: Introduction of six new chapters on CBDC focusing on financial stability, payments competition, financial integrity, legal considerations, tokenized reserves, and payment resilience in fragile and conflict-affected states.
- 11:00 AM — New Frontiers in Cross-Border Payments and Implications for Asia-Pacific
  - Speaker: Tobias Adrian, Financial Counsellor and Director, Monetary Capital Market Department, IMF; Presentation
  - Discussants: Elizabeth Genia, Governor, Bank of Papua New Guinea; Esala Masitabua, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Fiji; Presentation
  - Session notes: Advances in stablecoins and tokenization may enhance efficiency of cross-border payments and remittances while posing regulatory and financial stability challenges; focus on translating global innovations into practical regional solutions, with attention to PICs.
- 11:55 AM — Closing remarks; Hideaki Imamura, Senior Deputy Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Japan

---

## Content in this bundle

- **Session1 Slide for Imf Seminar on Digital Money and Payments in Transition Dgmet**
  - [Session1 Slide for Imf Seminar on Digital Money and Payments in Transition Dgmet (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/session1-slide-for-imf-seminar-on-digital-money-and-payments-in-transition-dgmet.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Session1 Slide for Imf Seminar on Digital Money and Payments in Transition Dgmet (PDF)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/session1-slide-for-imf-seminar-on-digital-money-and-payments-in-transition-dgmet.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **Fiji’s Digital Money & Payments – Current Situation & Challenges**
  - [Fiji’s Digital Money & Payments – Current Situation & Challenges (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/session2-fijis-payment-system-presentation-tokyo-211125f.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Fiji’s Digital Money & Payments – Current Situation & Challenges (PDF)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/session2-fijis-payment-system-presentation-tokyo-211125f.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **CBDC: Further Navigating Challenges and Opportunities**
  - [CBDC: Further Navigating Challenges and Opportunities (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/tokyo-2025-session-1-cbdc-handbook-tommaso-v2.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [CBDC: Further Navigating Challenges and Opportunities (PDF)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/tokyo-2025-session-1-cbdc-handbook-tommaso-v2.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}
- **New Frontiers in Cross-Border Payments and Implications for Asia–Pacific**
  - [New Frontiers in Cross-Border Payments and Implications for Asia–Pacific (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/tokyo-2025-session-2-cross-border-payments-tobias-v2.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [New Frontiers in Cross-Border Payments and Implications for Asia–Pacific (PDF)](/-/media/files/oap/oap-home/2025/tokyo-2025-session-2-cross-border-payments-tobias-v2.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

---

## References

- [Regional Office Website](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/resrep/oap-home)
- [Digital Money and Payments in Transition](https://www.imf.org/en/videos/view/6385653284112)
- [Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar Series](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ResRep/OAP-Home/asia-pacific-regional-seminar-series)
- [High-level Economic Policy Conferences](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ResRep/OAP-Home/policy-conferences)
- [Macroeconomist Training Program](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ResRep/OAP-Home/macroeconomist-training-program)
- [Japan-IMF Scholarship Program for Asia](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/ResRep/OAP-Home/JISPA-Home)
- [IMF CBDC Virtual Handbookand insights into the development of cross-border payments, focusing on Asia-Pacific region, especially the Pacific Islands Countries (PICs).](https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/digital-payments-and-finance/central-bank-digital-currency/virtual-handbook)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/countries/resrep/oap-home/2025/aprs-on-digital-money-and-payments-in-transition-1121_