Del Negro, Giannone and Patterson (2015) ‘The forward guidance puzzle’. Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Report n.574. 12. Lagarde (2021), Press conference on the ECB monetary policy statement on 22 July 2021. 13. ‘Norges Bank’s monetary policy handbook’, 2022. Other examples are from the Riksbank: “The publication of repo rate forecasts has given the general public greater insight into monetary policy and improved possibilities for evaluation and accountability.” (‘The Riksbank’s experiences of publishing repo rate forecasts’, 2017). And from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand: “Published forecasts help markets assess the economic environment and understand our policy strategy.” (John McDermott (2013) ‘The role of forecasting in monetary policy’). 14. In a speech in 2012, while still Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney put this well: “Today, to achieve a better path for the economy over time, a central bank may need to commit credibly to maintaining highly accommodative policy even after the economy and, potentially, inflation picks up. Market participants may doubt the willingness of an inflationtargeting central bank to respect this commitment if inflation goes temporarily above target. These doubts reduce the effective stimulus of the commitment and delay the recovery.” 15. Haberis, Harrison and Waldron (2019) ‘Uncertain policy promises’, European Economic Review, Vol 111, pages 459-474. 16. More formal, written constitutions, which usually can’t be altered except by super-majorities in the legislature, and therefore evolve more slowly than the electoral cycle, could be seen as a commitment device to allow for (otherwise) time-inconsistent but optimal government policies. 17.

The role of regulators and their policies are thus important, at least regarding two aspects: the promotion of the use and development of technology, including the incorporation of technological improvements into financial services provision; and the need to ensure that headway in financial inclusion does not impair consumer safeguards or financial stability. I would like to offer some brief thoughts on each of these two points. Promoting the use and development of new technologies. Logically, developing technological solutions requires suitable telecommunications infrastructures. They must provide widespread access to the Internet, including in rural areas, while seeking to improve digital education and offer safeguards against vulnerabilities such as cyber threats. We should not forget that approximately two-thirds of the adult population without access to 1  See Cull et al (2014). 2/3  banks do have a mobile phone. And, as the World Bank points out, these devices are proving essential for improving accessibility to financial services. Moreover, the development of a stable institutional framework – paving the way for competition, providing legal security to the new financial proposals and ensuring an appropriate level of interoperability – is vital for generating the necessary confidence in financial services. Also, aspects such as legal recognition of digital identification, the use of biometrics in identification and ease of access to public data in “Know your costumer” (KYC) procedures, are matters the different tiers of government can push and which catalyse significantly the progress in financial inclusion. Monitoring the risks inherent in financial innovation.