and settlement systems – including the committee on payments and market infrastructures of the bank for international settlements – the bank actively participates in international discussions on innovations in payments and payment and settlement systems. from the standpoint of a central bank, the bank is monitoring closely and with great interest the developments in innovations in payments and payment and settlement systems, from a range of perspectives. these include the safety of payments, the efficiency of payment services and the convenience to users, stability of the financial system, and the influence on finance intermediation and the economy. to make the innovations in payments that are taking place due to innovations in information technology truly useful for the users of financial services and the economy, it is important to develop a network and win - win relationships with a wide range of entities beyond the traditional financial industry. the bank, as the nation ’ s central bank, is firmly committed to being a catalyst in fostering such developments. moreover, i am pleased to announce that the bank will soon establish a “ fintech center ” in its payment and settlement systems department. we aim to reinforce our efforts in which the new wave of fintech will contribute to enhancing financial services and achieving sustainable growth of japan ’ s economy. i would like to close my remarks now by wishing that today ’ s forum on payment and settlement systems will generate new knowledge and perspectives, and that the stimulating discussions here will lead to further development of the financial markets and the vitalization of economic activities. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

haruhiko kuroda : innovations in payments and fintech – the central bank ’ s perspective remarks by mr haruhiko kuroda, governor of the bank of japan, at the forum on payment and settlement systems, tokyo, 17 march 2016. * * * introduction it is a great pleasure to welcome you all today to our forum on payment and settlement systems. i. innovations in payments and fintech recent years have seen a number of developments in financial services, including in the area of payments. innovations that combine finance and new technology, called “ fintech, ” have become a particular focus of attention. it is clear that there are both supply - side and demand - side factors behind such developments. on the supply side, the advance in technological innovations related to information and communications is progressing. the processing power of computers continues to grow rapidly, and computers can analyze huge amounts of data – that is, “ big data ” – in a relatively short period of time. there has also been a rapid spread of forms of infrastructure such as the internet and mobile terminals, which are easily accessible to a wide range of people. in other countries – particularly in emerging or developing nations where existing financial services provided by banks have not penetrated sufficiently – new services such as mobile payments are generating large expectations in terms of “ financial inclusion ” – or the promotion of access to financial services. on the demand side, globalization of the economy continues to progress, and more and more transactions are being made across borders as well as time zones. new forms of economic activities have arisen both here and abroad – such as “ e - commerce ” and the “ sharing economy ” – while lifestyles have diversified. reflecting such developments, the needs for financial services are growing increasingly diverse and complex. for example, there is an emerging need for payment methods that are compatible with internet shopping on weekends or at midnight as well as low - value cross - border remittances. there is also a growing need to use forms of information associated with payments by utilizing loyalty cards. as i just pointed out, we can judge that there are factors on both the supply and demand sides which are affecting developments in fintech. if we consider that the financial business has strong characteristics as an “ information industry, ” then it is not surprising that developments in information technology have a large influence, especially in finance. for example, credit, investment, and risk management are based on the accumulation of a great deal of information and analysis in which new technology has