25. 09. 2020 how central banks can use digitalisation to better serve the public : the case of payments navigating the digitalisation transformation - virtual omfif - banque de france seminar pablo hernandez de cos governor good morning, i would like to start off by expressing my gratitude to both the omfif and the banque de france for organising this very interesting and, certainly, timely event. like many of my esteemed colleagues, i have been vocal about the growing relevance of emerging technologies for the financial system before. in fact, at the banco de espana we are closely monitoring trends in order to fully understand their potential implications and be ready to act quickly, where necessary. yet despite all its recent history and significance, it is now - in the light of the pandemic - that digitalisation has become even more critical and, possibly, also a catalyst for a tectonic shift across multiple dimensions. products, services, business models, distribution channels and touch points all over the industry may, indeed, be closer today to an accelerated reshaping than was the case only a few months ago. if anything, these difficult times have, in my view, proven what a valuable ally digitalisation can be to strengthen banks ’ resilience and secure the necessary flow of funds to society at large. this has been instrumental to mitigate some of the damage caused by the outbreak. more broadly, the virtualisation of our economic activity during the pandemic has further provided a necessary backstop for many businesses that used to rely solely on their physical presence. as such, digitalisation has once again proved to be not a goal in itself but rather a means to serve a much broader purpose, as it offers a novel toolkit to push out the boundaries of what has been possible in the past, allowing us to address well - known and often challenging problems in a convenient and much more effective manner. exploring the pros and cons of issuing a central bank digital currency ( cbdc ) since the previous panel has already covered these covid - related themes quite extensively, i would rather use my time to draw your attention to something different and yet equally important as a reflection of the impact of digitalisation. hence, in the next few minutes i will comment on the way in which this transformational process echoes in a specific context, namely that of a central bank in its role as service provider, and the crosscutting impact this may have on the broader ecosystem. as in other

risk and on what implications those advances may have, not just for the capital framework, but also for the safety and soundness of the banking system, and for the future health of our economies. thanks to the cooperation of the federal reserve, the world bank, and the imf, we are all privileged to enjoy the rare opportunity to engage in a multilateral dialogue with fellow supervisors from 50 or more countries in the same room. i encourage you to make the best use of this unusual occasion to ask questions, to share views, and to pledge your cooperation – across agencies, across jurisdictions, and across markets. together, we can better encourage our banking organisations to improve their risk management. together, we can better secure the benefits of greater financial stability and more sustainable economic growth for all.