However, the actual economic conditions, the state of policy variables and level of policy instruments represent tails events rather than normal behaviour. Therefore, our empiric understanding lies outside the set of solutions offered by models, which are built and tested in normal times. Above all, the biggest challenge is adopting a new philosophy and a new way of thinking into policy design and implementation. Central banks are perfect environments for these new ideas to emerge and develop. They bring together distinguished analysts and the research community with a demanding set of problems that need solutions. Its network is available to researchers while financial, technological, statistical and intellectual support for research is practically limitless. Moreover, the research community in central banks has the opportunity to directly influence policy design and implementation. This particular characteristic endows central bank researchers with the opportunity to implement their findings and practically test their conclusions in practice. In this respect your conclusions have far reaching impact on people’s welfare and economic outcome. Therefore, you have an immense responsibility to adopt the best practices of academic methods and writing and make your research available to scrupulous critique at the bank and outside it as well as for the research community. Always be reminded that when your research and analysis have potential effects on other people’s lives. I sincerely invite you to adopt this spirit of cooperation during the proceedings of this workshop, as you have always done in the previous workshops.

But regulators cannot halt the advancement of technology just so that they are ready to regulate. In this situation, our challenge is to ensure that we keep pace with technology so that we are able to offer the required protection to all who access financial services using the new and unconventional payments systems. On our part, the Bank of Zambia shall focus its attention on the development of a robust regulatory framework that will address the key “hot button” issues of; 1. Prudential requirements; particularly those that relate to liquidity management and capital for infrastructure,  2. Consumer protection; with emphasis on disclosure of charges and confidentiality of customer information, and  3. Unfair trading practices particularly those related to monopolistic tendencies such as development of platform that are not compatible or not interoperable with platforms of other service providers. To strike a balance between a robust regulatory framework and the need for the framework not to hinder innovation and allow business to flourish, our efforts in establishing a robust  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  framework will therefore be anchored on five key or internationally accepted best practice principles. These are: 1. The need to identify the types of mobile payment platforms to be permitted;  2. The need for an efficient mobile payments infrastructure such as settlements systems;  3. The need to design rules to regulate the information communication technology platform which is itself rapidly evolving;  4. Consumer protection; and finally  5. The need for compliance monitoring.