risks. the increased usage of digital channels is equally having a bearing on financial crime. customer expectations are showing new trends. concurrently, as part of the banking evolutionary process, changes are happening on the front of climate change, fintech, cloud - based services, digital banks and artificial intelligence to name a few. supervisors should be able to navigate within the new confines of the banking environment. they should be capable of reacting to the unexpected, and crafting adequate regulatory and supervisory responses. more importantly, they should be capable of striking, at the very first go, a near - perfect balance between the soundness of the financial system and sustaining economic activity. this is why, as forward - looking regulators, central banks have to fully embark on the digital journey. at the level of the bank of mauritius, with the technical assistance of the imf, we are currently developing our own central bank digital currency. the upcoming deployment of a digitalised c - kyc platform as well as the forthcoming introduction 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches of a dedicated licence for digital banks are some of the other major projects the bank is currently working on. we are also closely monitoring heightened conduct risks and cybersecurity issues. ladies and gentlemen, the pandemic is also prompting enhanced monitoring and shrinking the timelines for the implementation of corrective measures. i can anticipate that regulators will need to engage in a process of perpetual risk and priority reassessment. policies will be bound to focus on crisis - generated risks and their impact on credit portfolios and liquidity pressures. data requirements need to be reviewed and a higher frequency may be required for reports that support supervisory duties. similarly, fundamental supervisory tools like stress testing and onsite inspections call for an evolution of their operational modality so that supervisors can remain abreast of situations requiring urgent action. as banks and financial institutions operate regionally and globally, increased cooperation and coordination between local and foreign regulatory counterparts become equally vital. such collaboration enhances exchange of information and home - host supervision, while facilitating any required collective upgrade of supervisory regimes. in this regard, i am a fervent proponent of cooperation. in that regard, since march last, the bank of mauritius has signed several memoranda of understanding with other central banks and regulatory agencies, and have many others in the pipeline. ladies and gentlemen, the risk of recurring waves of pandemic is material and calls for adaptability. as this varies from country to country, supervisors will

are typically quite set in their payment habits. furthermore, like all networks, there are positive externalities the more participants there are. that is, as more financial institutions offer fast payments and the reach of the system grows, it provides greater value to both individuals and businesses. if none of my family and friends can receive payments through the npp i am less likely to sign up for an alias and use it. but the more people i can pay using the system ( and the more people i can receive money from ) the higher value i get from the system. 4 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches third, as noted earlier, the system has been set up to encourage the development of commercial ‘ overlays ’ using the real - time payment capability to deliver value - added services to consumers and businesses. aside from the additional osko services in prospect, possible overlays might include services for superannuation, e - invoicing and motor vehicle sales. i am sure there are many innovative minds turning to the possibilities. this brings me to an issue that has caused some concern among potential new players in this space – access to the npp. they observe that the system has been built by the financial institutions and is governed by a board made up of those institutions, including the four major banks. they worry that these institutions will either make participation very difficult or costly or, alternatively, will have the inside running on developing and launching commercial overlay services. i think there are a few reasons to be optimistic that access will not be an issue. to begin with, as i noted earlier, the npp is a utility. it is aiming to cover costs, not make a profit. further, given that many of its costs are fixed, it is in the interests of npp australia ( nppa ) to get as many payments through the system as possible to lower the per - transaction cost. the structure of the board and the constitution also provide some protection. the board is comprised of eight participant financial institutions ( the four major banks plus four elected representatives of smaller institutions ), two independent non - executive directors ( of which one is chair ) plus a director representing the reserve bank. each director has one vote and the constitution notes that an objective of nppa is to promote the public interest, including through fair access. but it is also worth noting that the npp at its core is an infrastructure that facilitates clearing of payment messages between financial institutions and settlement of those obligations across accounts at the reserve bank