The pandemic is fundamentally changing how we work, how we conduct business, and even how we live and interact with one another. It is influencing how we pay for goods and services, accelerating the trend towards cashless and contactless payments.

Throughout the pandemic, financial market infrastructures and their related ecosystem have supported the economy's resilience and adapted to new needs. They have accompanied the digital transformation. This process will continue after the pandemic.

Central banks are playing an active role in this change. The ECB is promoting and offering instant payments, investigating the possibility of launching a digital euro, and supporting the G20's work on making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive while maintaining their safety and security.

(Full text available at BIS，07 November 2021)