took office has been that most of these issues are intellectually demanding and rewarding at the same time. describing his own personal experience, ben bernanke has emphasised that one common theme in all these fields is to realise that the “ devil is in the institutional details ” and to appreciate this dictum is the foundation of all serious policy work. this is certainly true and arguably the thin line academics rapport du conseil d ’ analyse economique : evolution recente du commerce exterieur francais, nov. 2006. have to cross to become serious policymakers. and, here, our academic background might be of some help in that we have learned to grasp the underlying economic content of multifaceted and complex issues. but it is certainly not enough to guarantee coherent and appropriate policy decisions. but these challenges are common to everyone taking up a political job without former practical experience in this area. one final remark : another aspect where my former academic life did not fully prepare me to meet current challenges has to be mentioned. and this aspect is not common for most of my academic colleagues that have now turned into policymakers : the bundesbank, an institution of roughly 11, 000 employees, is an institution in transition. the adjustment to the single monetary policy of the eurosystem has meant a cultural watershed to the bundesbank. having formerly been the anchor of the european monetary system, the bundesbank has been facing necessities of adjustment and workload involved has been more wide - ranging than it has been for other national central banks of the euro area. we are currently well under way in restructuring and refocusing our medium - term strategy. obviously, change management is something typically not included in economics i or ii courses – so i had to learn on the job how to cope with all the difficulties that this entails. admittedly, some of the tensions and issues that are inherent in policymaking for a large institution which is confronted with a massive shift in external conditions are the price to be paid in comparison with a purely academic life. on the other hand, working together for a public good like price stability is worth paying such a price for.

timothy lane : money and payments in the digital age remarks by mr timothy lane, deputy governor of the bank of canada, to the cfa montreal fintech rdv2020, montreal, quebec, 25 february 2020. * * * introduction good afternoon. thank you very much for inviting me here today to share some thoughts on how technological innovations are transforming the world of money and payments. technology has certainly changed every aspect of life. people now work, shop and stay in touch with each other very differently than even 10 years ago. technology is also changing the way canadians pay for things. digital payments in the form of debit, credit and prepaid cards are commonplace. we are also seeing mobile payments like apple pay and google pay, as well as the ability to send money by email. there is even limited use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. the bank of canada is looking carefully at how money and payments are evolving. this is because one of our key public policy objectives is to help ensure canadians can use their preferred methods of payment with confidence. new technologies in our payment systems mean new opportunities and benefits for consumers, businesses and financial institutions. but they also raise the potential for new risks to our financial system. in my remarks today, i want to talk about how the bank of canada is responding to this evolving environment. and part of our response involves looking at whether a case could — or should — be made in the future for a digital currency issued by the bank of canada. so i will share our contingency planning for that eventuality. today ’ s payment ecosystem let ’ s start with some basics regarding the current payment ecosystem. most of what we think of as money today consists of bank deposits. and most payments — whether by debit, credit, direct transfer or cheque — involve the transfer of funds between banks or other financial institutions. such transfers are supported by payment systems — the hardware and software that allow any financial institution to transfer funds to another. in canada, these systems move more than $ 200 billion every business day. the bank of canada plays a distinct role in payments. this is because payments from one financial institution to another are finally settled through a transfer of funds between their accounts at the bank of canada. the bank is also responsible for overseeing and regulating the whole system. in addition, we design, issue and distribute bank notes — the cash canadians physically exchange with others to purchase goods and services. so let ’ s talk about cash. 1 / 8