today, real - time payments are made almost exclusively between private individuals, through vipps and online banking. the infrastructure must better facilitate payments for businesses and the public sector. it must also allow for more innovation of services on top of this infrastructure. solutions both in the infrastructure and in banks must be established in line with international messaging standards. like several other central banks, norges bank is considering whether to expand its role as payment system operator. we are now exploring whether real - time payments should be settled directly in norges bank. this would give us greater opportunities to influence developments. 4 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches two alternatives for real - time settlement in norges bank are being considered. the first alternative is to establish a system whereby norges bank is itself responsible for management, development and operation. the second is to join the eurosystem ’ s tips solution. payments would then be settled in tips in nok on behalf of norges bank. sveriges riksbank decided to join tips earlier this year. norges bank ’ s research will continue for a few more months before we decide whether to pursue one of these alternatives. if we reject both, we will continue to work for better real - time payments under the current division of responsibility with the banking industry. irrespective of which solution we choose, the system for real - time payments must be efficient and secure, facilitate innovation and competition, and ensure satisfactory national governance and control. we conduct our research in dialogue with the industry and relevant government bodies. it is important to norges bank that affected parties support the chosen solution. for society to secure the benefits, we need market participants that develop payment services based on a common infrastructure. the introduction of iso 20022, a global messaging standard, is important for both real - time payments and the payment system as a whole. a standard whereby different solutions throughout the whole value chain “ speak the same language ” offers considerable advantages. projects are now in progress, both in the industry and norges bank, to replace legacy national standards and formats with iso 20022. solid plans have been made – now it is up to all the affected parties to contribute to implementation. technological advances – innovation and security chart 7 : technological advances – opportunities and challenges innovation and competition improve payment system efficiency, with solutions that are better adapted to society ’ s needs. so far, i have mainly spoken about domestic payments, but innovation is also transforming payment systems across borders and currencies. for example

experts. thus the training efforts of the institutes will be a key ingredient in the development of the three pillars of basel ii. the inclusion of the stakeholders in this consultative process and capacity building is crucial. ladies and gentlemen, i would like to encourage you all to participate actively during this important forum so as to get maximum benefits from this workshop. as i conclude, may i welcome the presence of delegates from rwanda and burundi to this workshop. i wish the participants a happy stay in nairobi and fruitful deliberations. with these few remarks, it is now my humble duty to declare the 7th east african banking school officially open. thank you for your kind attention.