speech financial innovation for inclusive growth : a european approach speech by luis de guindos, vice - president of the ecb, at the conference financial integration and inclusive development – a view from the mediterranean countries, jointly organised by banco de espana, oecd and european institute of the mediterranean ( iemed ) madrid, 13 december 2019 introduction the benefits of technological innovation are tangible : we can see them and experience them in our everyday lives. financial services are an integral part of our daily activities and are deeply affected by advances in technology. payment services have changed considerably in recent years, driven by new technologies and shifts in consumer preferences. instant person - to - person ( p2p ) retail payment solutions are now a reality in many countries and are increasingly available for consumers and businesses to use around the clock. mobile p2p payment solutions allow people to simply use a smartphone to transfer money and only require the phone number or email address of the recipient to complete a transaction. at the point - of - sale, large global schemes such as google pay and apple pay use contactless technologies to enable quick and easy payments. in some markets, quick response ( qr ) codes mean making a payment as easy as taking a picture with a smartphone. meanwhile, new service providers piggyback on existing banking and payment infrastructures to offer online payment solutions that cater to our digital lifestyle. while i am convinced that technological progress needs to be fostered and not hindered, i can ’ t but notice that its benefits have failed to reach all corners of our societies – in particular underprivileged populations and vulnerable groups, for whom financial innovation has not yet made a difference. and while in certain regions mobile money has given millions of customers access to our financial systems, more work is needed to ensure access for the 1. 7 billion adults who currently do not have a transaction account. furthermore, in stark contrast to other ubiquitous technologies, existing cross - border payments are not always “ up to speed ” and cost - efficient. in fact, while the global average cost of remittances has decreased, it is still well above the 3 % target indicator for sustainable development by 2030. [ 3 ] at the same time, the importance of remittances has grown : they have overtaken foreign direct investment as the largest source of external financing to emerging economies. [ 4 ] these facts and figures should not come as a surprise to anyone in this room. yet they caused quite a stir earlier this year

on ’ stablecoins ’ ”, 5 december 2019. [ 9 ] see frost, j., gambacorta, l., huang y., shin, h. and zbinden, p. ( 2019 ), “ bigtech and the changing structure of financial intermediation ”, bis working papers, no 779, bank for international settlements, april. [ 10 ] see cœure, b. ( 2019 ), “ towards the retail payments of tomorrow : a european strategy ”, speech at the joint conference of the ecb and the national bank of belgium on “ crossing the chasm to the retail payments of tomorrow ”, brussels, 26 november. [ 11 ] ibid. european central bank directorate general communications sonnemannstrasse 20, 60314 frankfurt am main, germany tel. : + 49 69 1344 7455, e - mail : media @ ecb. europa. eu website : www. ecb. europa. eu reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged. media contacts related topics rules and procedures governance central banking international relations money risks disclaimer please note that related topic tags are currently available for speeches and introductory statements to the press conferences ( with q & a ) from 2018 - 19 only. copyright 2019, european central bank banking sector target instant payment settlem