, the same happened with net purchases under the older monetary policy asset purchase programme ( app ). in june, the governing council of the ecb raised its key interest rates by 50 basis points, thus closing the chapter on negative interest rates. that was followed by two 3 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches interest rate steps of 75 basis points each and another two of 50 basis points each. this meant that, within the space of not even eight months, key interest rates had been raised by 300 basis points. and the ecb governing council has signalled an increase by a further 50 basis points for march. in addition, there were a number of other modifications to the monetary policy framework, one of which i would like to mention here : the creation of the transmission protection instrument, or tpi for short. it can be activated to counter disorderly and unwarranted market dynamics that pose a threat to the achievement of price stability. the tpi is designed to ensure that the monetary policy stance is transmitted smoothly across all euro area countries. or, in technical terms : " to ensure the singleness of the governing council's monetary policy ". activation of the tpi is based on a comprehensive assessment by the ecb governing council. it has not had to be activated thus far, and i hope it stays that way. at our latest meeting, we also decided on the starting point for reducing holdings under the app : from march to june 2023, €15 billion per month on average of principal payments from maturing securities will no longer be reinvested. that corresponds to around half of the redemptions over that period of time. this likewise represents an important contribution to the normalisation of monetary policy. in the past few years, the eurosystem expanded its balance sheet enormously for monetary policy reasons. the large volume of central bank asset holdings is having a dampening effect, particularly at the longer end of the yield curve. at the short end, however, the eurosystem has been pushing up the yield curve with substantial policy rate steps. in the long run, something has to give. moreover, there is no reason for supplying the financial system over the long term with such ample liquidity as is being provided now. i am therefore in favour of taking a steeper path of reduction starting in july in light of experience gained up to that point. i expect the markets to cope well with the reduction in the eurosystem's asset holdings. and, given

international standards are the focal point in ensuring an efficient crossborder payments flow. in my view, these three features are the key determinants of a stable and broadly accepted digital currency that fits into the international financial system. against this backdrop, safe and efficient payment markets must be brought to the next level, in particular for cross - border and cross - currency payments. this topic has been on the agenda for several years. while we have seen significant progress in improving payments at the domestic or regional level, cross - border payments are, putting it bluntly, still in the medieval age. the g20 roadmap on enhancing cross - border payments is an important step in this direction. the committee on payments and market infrastructures, together with the financial stability board and the bis, has set up a comprehensive working programme encompassing 19 building blocks across five focus areas, including new payment infrastructures and arrangements, which covers central bank digital currencies, amongst other things. this work can only serve the long - term goal of achieving a fair and sustainable payments landscape, as long as international cooperation thrives. i am optimistic that this fruitful work initiated by the g20, but also in the form of other international formats, will continue. cbdc might not be the panacea for all challenges that payments are facing. but it might be an option, including for cross - border payments. in a nutshell, payments are – and always will – be a backbone of the economy. the digital economy has already changed the payment landscape quite significantly and will continue to do so in future. it is the responsibility of the central bank to create trust in its currency and to ensure that payments remain competitive, innovative and safe. we also have to ensure that central bank money will be offered in a way that is compatible with the digital economy. let me finish with the words of abraham lincoln : “ the best way to predict the future is to create it. ” 1 bis papers no 114, ready, steady, go? – results of the third bis survey on central bank digital currencies 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches ( january 2021 ). 2 www. bundesbank. de / en / tasks / topics / making - payments - in - 2020 - the - year - of - covid - 19 - card - based - and - contactless - payments - trending - 823592 3 www. bis. org / publ / othp33. pdf 4 www.