more like its physical counterpart – instant, anonymous and direct. and scientific advances are modernising physical currency, cash, which still has a hugely important role in society. we use a host of technologies to protect our physical banknotes against counterfeiting. the switch to polymer has allowed us to introduce new security features, including see - through panels, coloured foils and detailed metallic images. polymer also makes our banknotes stronger, with a lifespan two and a half times that of paper notes, and greener, because they will be recycled when they reach the end of their useful lives. science means that the costs of producing notes – both economic and environmental – are lower. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / publications / pages / speeches / default. aspx this is good for the society ; the society that the bank of england serves ; and the society that is reflected on our banknotes. the bank is committed to ensuring that the nation ’ s money is as inclusive as possible. being inclusive means : - ensuring our notes are accessible to everyone. that ’ s why we have increased the range of features that help the blind and visually impaired distinguish between different denominations, adding tactile dots in the upper left - hand corner. these dots join existing features, such as differing colour palettes, raised print, tiered sizing and bold numerals ; and - being inclusive means an open and transparent approach to decide the characters that feature on our banknotes, by seeking nominations from the public, which can then be considered by an advisory panel. today, i ’ m here to deliver on that second objective. following the success of the polymer fiver and tenner, and the forthcoming £20, last month the bank confirmed that it will issue a new £50 note. and this new £50 will need a new character to feature on its design. i am delighted to announce today that the field from which nominations will be sought for the new £50 note is – if you hadn ’ t guessed by now – science. our advisory panel chose science in recognition of the united kingdom ’ s extraordinary scientific heritage. in the pre - industrial era, the laws of motion and discovery of hydrogen were foundational achievements by uk scientists. they paved the way for future scientific progress – from autos to aerospace – so that present day heroes like lewis hamilton and astronauts tim peake and helen sharman truly “ stand on the shoulders of giants ” [ newton,

and efficient payment system is a critical market infrastructure of a stable financial system. the payment system not only provides channels for funds to be transferred among banks and other institutions. it also functions as an essential tool for the effective implementation of monetary policy. it plays a pivotal role in the smooth functioning of money and capital markets. but it is no longer simply the large value payment system – those that has long been recognized as systemically important – that are getting the attention of regulators and policy makers globally. retail payments are increasingly becoming an important piece of the overall infrastructure that rightly warrants our developmental focus. an efficient retail payment system has the potential to transform the economy through the efficiency it brings to business transactions and the savings generated from a shift from paperbased to digital instruments. it benefits the consumers and businesses in terms of the affordability, convenience and speed of payment services – the most basic and most used financial service. this is financial inclusion. given these, the bsp is giving the payment and settlement system the attention it deserves. we recognize that having an efficient payment system is not just about operating infrastructure, but 1 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches also providing an enabling regulatory environment that promotes interoperability, efficiency, and consumer protection. on december 9, 2015, the framework for the national retail payment system ( nrps ) to create a safe, efficient, affordable, and interoperable electronic retail payment system was launched. ultimately, the goal is to increase retail electronic payment transactions to twenty percent ( 20 % ) by 2020 and improve the country ’ s economic competitiveness. realization of this goal requires an enormous collaborative effort among various stakeholders. we have achieved significant progress to date. two automated clearing houses ( ach ) – pesonet and instapay were introduced last november 8, 2017 and april 23, 2018, respectively. both achs provide digital payment solutions to the current payment challenges encountered by government, businesses and ordinary consumers. we have also issued various operating guidelines that promote level playing field and greater participation of smaller players without compromising safety. our current efforts include the development of a national qr code standard to prevent the proliferation of closed loop infrastructures and instead promote interoperability of systems, domestically and even regionally. on the legislative side, we are pursuing measures to support reforms in the payments landscape through the enactment of the payment systems act which provides for the clear mandate of the bsp for the regulation and oversight of the payment system. in order for the financial system