in matters of electronic technology. inevitably we are dependent on the experts. they have devised sophisticated methods of electronic signatures, encryption, certification, firewalls and the like. one way or another, by obtaining appropriate professional advice, by applying rigorous standards of compliance and computer audit, and so on, those within an organisation should be able to deliver the necessary assurances to customers, and the regulatory or supervisory authorities will need to satisfy themselves as to the dependability of such assurances. the financial authorities within countries, and on a collective basis internationally, may also have a role to play in developing recognised common standards in these arenas of technology and security. the second characteristic deserving our special attention is the nature of the person or company which is offering us banking or payment services over the internet. if we are merely using electronic services provided by our usual bank, which we know to be sound and to be supervised by an acknowledged regulator in a known jurisdiction, then we should be in no more danger of losing our money than we would be by banking with the same bank in the conventional manner, provided of course that both the bank and the regulator have kept pace with the requirements of internet banking, such as in respect of the security aspects discussed already. but it is quite a different story if we are tempted to part with money to some organisation masquerading as a bank, or which actually is a bank but is registered in a jurisdiction with lower supervisory standards than those to which we are accustomed. in hong kong, in order to protect the public we already have legislation governing usage of the word “ bank ”, and governing the advertising for deposits within our boundaries by anyone not authorised to take deposits in hong kong. but we cannot protect people from the possible consequences of clicking onto a website in a far - off place which is luring them to part with their money. the message is clear : make sure that you know and trust your banker. in hong kong there has been some talk of new banks being established for the sole purpose of conducting internet banking. in deciding whether to authorise such a bank, the monetary authority would expect to apply very much the same criteria as for a conventional bank, but would need to pay particular attention to the business plan in order to ensure that it reflected realistic assumptions and prudent banking principles. we intend in the near future to issue guidelines for any such applications. already, as the supervisory body for existing banks, the monetary authority needs to take account of any particular risks that per

between a digital public money, like cbdcs, and other forms of digital private money. as central banks embrace these new forms of money, it is crucial for us to enable the right financial innovations to flourish while ensuring that the core financial systems that underpin our economy remain stable, trustworthy, and resilient. sound regulations are 2 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches essential. and in some areas, we may also need to consider establishing shared infrastructure for public goods, just as we have done with payment systems in the old world. so far as regulations are concerned, a delicate balance has to be struck. too stringent an approach may stifle financial innovation, as the industry becomes overly risk - averse or reliant on the central bank to dictate the direction of innovations. an overly lenient approach, on the other hand, could potentially undermine the central bank's effectiveness as a stable monetary anchor for common citizens, businesses, and financial institutions. this could result in a digital economy dominated by a few closed, privately - run platforms that prevent the emergence of more affordable and efficient solutions. it is therefore crucial to strike the right balance between enabling innovation and maintaining stability. central banks should continue to play their role in the provision of public money serving as a trusted monetary anchor, enabling the private sector to confidently develop innovative, value - adding financial products for consumers and businesses. in this connection, a cbdc should be viewed in the context of these functions of the central bank in the monetary system. to build on the current two - tier structure, central banking institutions like the hkma should underpin the foundation of our payment systems. this is a model that we have explored together with the bis innovation hub in 2022 under project aurum, where wholesale cbdcs will be used by regulated financial institutions, and customer - facing activities will be assigned to the private sector, just like today under a two - tier system. keeping in mind these developments, through the lens of the regulator, it is clear that we need a holistic digital money framework that will facilitate the healthy co - existence of public and private money to support our future digital economy. a digital money framework this digital money framework will encompass different forms of tokenised money, which consumers and businesses will likely see and adopt in the years to come. our intention is to provide the necessary guidance and creative freedom for the industry to experiment with new technologies and develop innovative solutions. this framework is the collation of