in finland, loan - and investmentbased crowdfunding for business activity will be regulated through the coming crowdfunding act. platforms and networks are also at the heart of blockchain technology. blockchain technology, which drives bitcoin, for example, also facilitates transactions as well as the saving and distribution of information without a trusted third party. the technology can be applied in many different ways. thus there are already plans to store securities, contracts and transactions using blockchain principles. if blockchains are used only for more efficient storage of information and ensuring consistency, the change will not be revolutionary. but if blockchains result in a redefinition of the role of trusted parties, the changes may be potentially very great. bis central bankers ’ speeches digitalisation in the payments market digitalisation in its various forms has already been a theme at previous payments forums. the effects of digitalisation have been powerfully reflected in the payments market in recent years. many new actors, offering their own new payment applications, have appeared. it should be noted, however, that these applications often make use of traditional payment instruments, notably card payments and credit transfers, operating in the background. as a result, changes in the background payment systems, have been quite limited. in the future, the situation may be different if numerous studies under way, for example to exploit blockchain technology, prove to be successful. one essential driver of digitalisation is young people who are accustomed to doing everything via the internet, often on a mobile device. in their view, payments must be convenient and easy for the user and available 24 hours a day. new players entering the market have created operating models that place the user at the centre of payment services. this challenges traditional operators, who must respond to the challenge. perspectives on future payment trends are provided by a payments council electronic booklet published today : how will we pay in the 2020s? [ in finnish only ]. the subject will also be discussed in the panel that ends this payments forum. ease and convenience are the features required of payments in the future. from a monetary authority ’ s perspective, security and reliability should be added to the list. without trust, even the easiest to use payment method will not survive in the market. real - time payment transmission will be an essential element of the digitalisation of payments in the future, as will 24 / 7 availability of services. this is also an area of focus in the eurosystem. the euro

and growth – it is better to be safe than sorry, in other words to proceed gradually and step by step in monetary policy normalisation. monetary policy will be conducted in a consistent and flexible manner, maintaining the room for manoeuvre. the governing council will use all its instruments to ensure that inflation stabilises at its 2 % target over the medium term. ladies and gentlemen, the heightened geopolitical tension emphasises the importance of unity in the european union. when the covid - 19 crisis fades into history, the eu ’ s greatest challenge will be to strengthen its common foreign and security policy. in people ’ s everyday lives, geopolitics is now seen and felt in the form of higher energy prices and rising inflation. in these circumstances too, the economic stability of europe and finland is vitally underpinned by the european union and the common currency shared by 19 member states. i look forward to hearing the views of others here today on the challenges ahead, and shall be following the discussion closely. thank you! 1 bank of finland bulletin article koronapandemiasta toipuminen kiihdytti inflaatiota, mutta inflaation ennustetaan tasaantuvan ( ‘ the covid - 19 crisis fuelled inflation, but inflation is forecast to s t a b i l i s e ’ ). www. eurojatalous. fi / fi / 2022 / artikkelit / koronapandemiasta - toipuminen - kiihdytti - inflaatiota - muttainflaation - ennustetaan - tasaantuvan / 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches