but to unlock its true value for businesses and consumers, we as regulators have a role to play. in this context, clear example is the payment services directive 2 ( psd2 ) that opened up eu payments market to higher competition, by establishing a level playing field for traditional players and new entrants, while providing higher protection for consumers. the new concept of open banking was conducive to richer payment landscape with numerous new entrants ( third party providers ) and numerous new customer - centric services. thus, payments enabled by new providers have just started to take off, but it looks promising to become a new normal as they are expected to improve the user experience. how fast this segment of the financial system in the eu is developing can be witnessed by the approximately 300 new providers operating by midseptember this year, which is just two years since the application of the new regulation - relevant regulatory technical standards under the psd2 ( open banking report, 20212 ). most of the companies that offer these innovative services are fintechs, but open banking also 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches offers a possibility for traditional banks. in fact the survey conducted by accenture3 finds that three quarters ( 75 % ) of the banks see payments modernization as being driven by changes in the national payments infrastructure and regulation, which include improving bank - to - bank payments systems, new industry standards and open banking. the rapid move to digital payments has put additional pressure on banks, with three - quarters ( 75 % ) of bank executives saying that the pandemic has increased the urgency of their plans to modernize payment systems. pressures are felt by the central banks as well. in response to changes in consumer payments preferences, the need to further increase efficiency of payments, as well as the disruption caused by covid - 19, the interest in central bank digital currency ( cbdc ) has also increased. in fact, last year was the launch of the first “ live ” digital currency in the bahamas. a recent bis survey4 of central banks found that 86 % were actively researching the potential for cbdcs, 60 % were experimenting with the technology and 14 % were already deploying pilot projects. the central bank digital money, intended to be digital equivalent to cash, could further increase consumer choice, competition and accessibility with regard to digital payments, thus supporting financial inclusion and making cross - border payments faster and cheaper. in addition, some central banks see the preservation of monetary sovereignty in

fadilj bajrami : ecb regional cooperation programme with central banks in the western balkans address by mr fadilj bajrami, vice governor of the national bank of the republic of macedonia, on the occasion of the third programme steering committee meeting of the ecb regional cooperation programme with central banks in the western balkans, pristina, 27 march 2015. * * * dear governor hamza, dear deputy governor gjoni, dear mr. fehlker, dear mr. chlad, representatives from central banks, ladies and gentlemen, i am glad to be here, in pristina, with you today, on the occasion of the third and final meeting of the steering committee, to officially mark the successful completion of the joint cooperation programme between the ecb and the national central banks of the eurosystem, on the one hand, and the central banks of the western balkans, on the other. the inclusion of the three central banks in this programme, which aims to strengthen their institutional capacity and align their operations with the central banking standards of the eu, is of enormous importance for the region, given the role of central banks in the eu accession process. namely, this regional approach of the ecb allows raising the level of compliance with the eu standards and policies, but also creates an opportunity to advance the cooperation between the central banks in the region and the central banks of the eu. therefore, i believe that the cooperation will continue in the same spirit and will further advance through other forms of cooperation in various central banking areas. concerning the nbrm, it is my pleasure to emphasize that with the ecb colleagues, we have jointly established the current progress of implementation of the recommendations from the needs assessment of the nbrm, and defined the follow - up steps. on this occasion, let me point out that the nbrm will remain committed to the implementation of the recommendations provided in the report, bearing in mind that many of them have already been incorporated in the nbrm strategic plan. hence, the further support of the ecb and the eurosystem in terms of experience and knowledge is of immense importance, as well as the assistance of our strategic partners, with whom we hope to continue working together on the implementation of the recommendations. eventually, allow me to express my gratitude to the ecb and other central banks of the eurosystem involved in the programme, as well as the hosts, hoping to have future opportunities to meet at similar