opening remarks by ms caroline abel governor of the central bank of seychelles visa - digital payments workshop august 16, 2018 venue : eden bleu hotel mr. majeed hujair - senior director of the visa school of public policy, invited guests, workshop participants, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. i am delighted and honoured to welcome you to this ‘ digital payments ’ workshop, to be conducted by our fellow colleague from the visa school of public policy. visa has been a long - standing and active participant in the seychelles ’ economy, providing services to our commercial banks, merchants and consumers. it is of utmost importance that we continue to build and maintain this collaboration, especially through public - private dialogues. it is crucial for regulators to work with the private sector to provide an enabling environment, and to enhance financial inclusion, through private sector expertise. i believe we can all agree that the financial services sector is the lifeblood of any economy. access to, but more importantly, the use of financial services, helps to increase economic opportunities and reduce vulnerabilities. digital payment platforms are essential in enabling individuals, families and communities, to contribute towards economic development. over the past few years, the local financial system has experienced some considerable changes, with the introduction of new products and services, bringing about many new opportunities, as well as unique challenges. these changes have contributed significantly to shaping the local financial environment, in terms of policy actions and has highlighted the need to build capacity to effectively respond to the challenges. coordination and collaboration between all players in the financial sector, has proven to be crucial to the formulation of policy actions. digital financial services are playing an increasingly central role in financial inclusion efforts in seychelles. the central bank recognises digital payments as a priority, as the shift towards digital payments can bring about exciting opportunities and contribute immensely towards digitising the economy. the urge to modernise and introduce innovative digital financial services, as well as the willingness to build a financially inclusive society, is shared by many other stakeholders. various initiatives have been introduced in seychelles, showcasing our interest in digital financial services, for the betterment of the financial sector, and the country as a whole. some of the key developments and initiatives include : the introduction of a near real - time payment platform - the seychelles electronic funds transfer system ( seft ) the adoption of the international bank account number ( iban ) the introduction of internet banking platforms by our banks the introduction of emv compliant debit cards the introduction of mobile money services by

- on - year inflation measured 12. 9 %. in less than one year we brought it down to 2. 2 % and preserved it at an average of 2. 0 % in the next five years. since that time inflation in serbia hovered at a level recorded in european countries, equalling 2. 4 % in july. the intention to maintain, in the period to come, what has been achieved is also affirmed by our decision to lower the inflation target from 4±1. 5 % to 3±1. 5 % as of the beginning of 2017. low inflationary pressures reflected primarily adequate monetary policy measures that were fully coordinated with fiscal policy, and this was also at the core of anchoring inflation expectations. today the financial and corporate sectors expect inflation to be maintained at a low level, as they have done for almost five years, since this brings certainty to their business and planning. chart 1 low and stable inflation ( y - o - y rates, in % ) chart 2 anchored one - year ahead inflation expectations ( y - o - y rates, in % ) july 2018. 3. 0 % financial sector ( bloomberg ) 2. 8 % 2. 7 % corporate sector ( ipsos ) financial sector ( ipsos ) average 8. 7 % 6. 4 % average 2. 1 % 2. 0 % sources : sors and nbs calculation. july 2018 2. 4 % 0. 9 % headline inflation core inflation sources : gallup, ipsos / ninamedia, bloomberg and nbs. relative stability of the dinar exchange rate has been preserved and the country's foreign exchange reserves have increased. in the last six years we have also maintained relative stability of the exchange rate – the dinar gained 0. 5 % against the euro. it should be noted that relative stability has been preserved despite strong turbulences in the international environment – brexit, fed ’ s monetary policy normalisation, trade and geopolitical tensions, crisis in some eu countries, asian stock market meltdown in early 2016, etc. ). we have carefully assessed the intensity and type of pressures in the foreign exchange market and intervened impartially in both directions. improvement in domestic macroeconomic indicators and the strengthening of the resilience of the domestic economy to shocks from the international environment shifted the focus toward purchase side interventions, especially during the last two years. as a result, the country ’ s foreign exchange reserves gained eur 1. 1 billion on this account, and now