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Deputy Governor participates in a High-Level Conference organised by the MFSA

Deputy Governor Alexander Demarco recently participated in a panel discussion during a High-Level Conference organised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The Conference included participants from global financial institutions, international organisations and academia, and was held ahead of the International Organisation of Securities Commission's (IOSCO) Growth and Emerging Markets and European Regional Committee meetings being held in Malta.

Mr Demarco participated in a panel discussion relating to cross-border payments and making retail payments faster and safer. In his intervention, the Deputy Governor highlighted the reasons why efficient, cost-effective and safe payments systems are so essential for a well-functioning economy. He referred to the various initiatives that the Eurosystem has taken in payment systems, such as TARGET services, comprising T2 for wholesale payments, T2S for securities settlement, and TIPS for retail instant payments, where the latter has expanded to offer cross-currency services, with Sweden and Denmark starting participation earlier this year and other countries showing interest in joining. He referred to plans of the Eurosystem to connect TIPS to other fast payment systems globally.

Regarding the next steps in payments for the Eurosystem, the Deputy Governor gave an overview of the work since 2021 that the Eurosystem has been undertaking on a retail digital euro, as well as in parallel exploratory work on new technologies for a wholesale digital euro, with the objective of developing a European payments infrastructure that enables global payments to be safer, faster, cheaper and more transparent, without compromises on integrity, stability and sovereignty.