{
  "title": "Opening Remarks: Vienna Conference on the Bali Fintech Agenda",
  "publication": "IMF News, January 28, 2019",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2019/01/28/sp01282019-vienna-conference-on-the-bali-fintech-agenda",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2019/01/28/sp01282019-vienna-conference-on-the-bali-fintech-agenda",
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  "summary": "Speaker: Tobias Adrian",
  "authors": [
    "Tobias Adrian Vienna"
  ],
  "publishDate": "2019-01-28",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Context and objectives of the Bali Fintech Agenda (BFA)",
      "content": "- BFA provides a high-level conceptual framework to tie together the many challenges inherent in the digitalization of financial services.\n- The Bank and the Fund have begun operationalizing the agenda:\n  - Conducted a survey to provide insights into membership priorities.\n  - Survey results, combined with a summary of recent Fintech developments and regulatory responses, will be presented in a formal paper to the Executive Board.\n  - Dialogue on Fintech issues continues through Article IV consultations and Financial Sector Assessment Program reports.\n  - Collaboration with standard-setters in their respective areas."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Key Fintech developments and opportunities discussed",
      "content": "- Private-sector innovation is driving rapid and non-linear developments (examples cited: cryptocurrency price gyrations; rise and fall of Initial Coin Offerings).\n- Promising area: Financial Inclusion\n  - Fintech can make payments and access to credit easier (example: Kenya’s M-Pesa mobile-phone wallet).\n  - Non-bank firms (telecom operators, lending platforms) are delivering access at scale, raising regulatory questions because traditional financial regulation focused on licensed institutions (principally banks).\n- Cross-border payments\n  - Potential for large cost savings and time efficiency.\n  - New entrants include telcos, Big Tech, and other firms; example: M-Pesa users in Kenya can now make payments to China’s WeChat users.\n  - Policy challenges require coordinated international frameworks and include:\n    - Improving payments infrastructure to enable greater efficiency.\n    - Broadening access to, and reviewing oversight of, this infrastructure for new entrants.\n    - Ensuring interoperability of systems.\n    - Overseeing and addressing the transformation of the banking business due to new technologies.\n    - Mitigating the risk of money laundering in new payment channels.\n- Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)\n  - Cited BIS survey result: 70 percent of central banks are currently involved in — or soon will be involved in — this complex area, with one-third of them now seeing the issuance of CBDCs as likely.\n  - Discussion to explore costs and benefits of CBDCs and implications for “banking as we know it.”"
    },
    {
      "heading": "Risks, regulatory challenges, and supervisory needs",
      "content": "- New technologies and market developments introduce new risks requiring adjustments to policy and supervisory frameworks.\n- Supervisory and regulatory monitoring must evolve:\n  - Classic prudential reporting frameworks need to be complemented by new data-collection frameworks covering new entrants and new channels; legal bases for such data collection may not yet exist.\n  - Regulatory perimeter questions:\n    - Appropriate regulatory approach to crypto assets and new products/activities.\n    - Assessment of stability implications and risk mitigation.\n    - Need for strong institutional and legal frameworks to guarantee financial integrity.\n- Data infrastructure, privacy, and cyber risk concerns are central to providing robust central-bank and supervisory services."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy recommendations and next steps (three specific steps)",
      "content": "- First: Jurisdictions should begin consultations with all relevant parties (central banks, regulators, private-sector participants) to develop country-specific approaches that reflect comparative advantages and specific situations; priorities will differ (examples of priorities: Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism issues; financial inclusion; infrastructure).\n- Second: Pursue regional consultations and cooperation efforts (noted that Tom Richardson will address the role of the Joint Vienna Institute).\n- Third: Commit to sharing knowledge and engaging in more events to reach beyond individual country concerns; pursue a robust program of publications by respective institutions to promote broader knowledge-exchange."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Conference format and engagement",
      "content": "- Conference to reflect on the relevance of BFA elements to each economy’s conditions, share experiences, voice concerns, explore challenges, and discuss policy approaches.\n- Panel discussions to cover Fintech developments, private-sector perspectives, Financial Inclusion, cross-border payments, CBDCs, and implications for central-bank services.\n- Final session: roundtable for participants to share experiences and ask questions.\n- Speaker expectation: continued engagement over the months to come to advance the agenda; discussions to take place over the next two days.\n\nOpening Remarks: Vienna Conference on the Bali Fintech Agenda — Tobias Adrian; Vienna, Austria; January 28, 2019.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- Tobias Adrian\n- Austria and the IMF\n- Kenya and the IMF\n- Speeches\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Bali Fintech Agenda\n- financial technologies\n- Article IV consultation\n- Financial Sector Assessment Program\n- central banks should issue digital currencies\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2019/01/28/sp01282019-vienna-conference-on-the-bali-fintech-agenda"
    }
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    "Authors: Tobias Adrian Vienna",
    "Published: January 28, 2019",
    "BFA provides a high-level conceptual framework to tie together the many challenges inherent in the digitalization of financial services.",
    "The Bank and the Fund have begun operationalizing the agenda:",
    "Private-sector innovation is driving rapid and non-linear developments (examples cited: cryptocurrency price gyrations; rise and fall of Initial Coin Offerings).",
    "Promising area: Financial Inclusion",
    "Cross-border payments",
    "Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)",
    "New technologies and market developments introduce new risks requiring adjustments to policy and supervisory frameworks.",
    "Supervisory and regulatory monitoring must evolve:",
    "Data infrastructure, privacy, and cyber risk concerns are central to providing robust central-bank and supervisory services.",
    "First: Jurisdictions should begin consultations with all relevant parties (central banks, regulators, private-sector participants) to develop country-specific approaches that reflect comparative advantages and specific situations; priorities will differ (examples of priorities: Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism issues; financial inclusion; infrastructure).",
    "Second: Pursue regional consultations and cooperation efforts (noted that Tom Richardson will address the role of the Joint Vienna Institute).",
    "Third: Commit to sharing knowledge and engaging in more events to reach beyond individual country concerns; pursue a robust program of publications by respective institutions to promote broader knowledge-exchange.",
    "Conference to reflect on the relevance of BFA elements to each economy’s conditions, share experiences, voice concerns, explore challenges, and discuss policy approaches.",
    "Panel discussions to cover Fintech developments, private-sector perspectives, Financial Inclusion, cross-border payments, CBDCs, and implications for central-bank services.",
    "Final session: roundtable for participants to share experiences and ask questions.",
    "Speaker expectation: continued engagement over the months to come to advance the agenda; discussions to take place over the next two days.",
    "[Tobias Adrian](http://www.imf.org/external/np/bio/eng/ta.htm)",
    "[Austria and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/AUT/index.htm)",
    "[Kenya and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/KEN/index.htm)",
    "[Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)",
    "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)",
    "[Bali Fintech Agenda](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/10/11/pr18388-the-bali-fintech-agenda)",
    "[financial technologies](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Key-Issues/Fintech)",
    "[Article IV consultation](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-Surveillance)",
    "[Financial Sector Assessment Program](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/01/16/14/Financial-Sector-Assessment-Program)",
    "[central banks should issue digital currencies](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/11/13/sp111418-winds-of-change-the-case-for-new-digital-currency)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)"
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