A speech by Ron Morrow, Bank of Canada Executive Director of Payments, Supervision and Oversight, highlights Canada’s need to accelerate payments innovation, noting the country lags behind peers in adopting new technologies, supporting new entrants, and providing faster, cheaper payment options. While cryptocurrency use for payments remains limited due to volatility, stablecoins are gaining traction, especially for cross-border transfers, but require robust regulation to ensure safety. The Bank of Canada emphasizes the importance of balancing speed with security, referencing recent regulatory steps like the Retail Payment Activities Act, which gives the Bank new oversight of payment service providers (PSPs). The speech calls for federal-provincial cooperation, faster rollout of real-time payments (RTR), advancement in open banking, and maintaining consumer trust, positioning the Bank as both a regulator and facilitator for future innovation in payments. [Source: Bank of Canada]
[August 5, 2025] The Central Bank of Chile (BCCh) published its annual payment systems report in which it announced that it will develop a proof-of-concept (POC) to study the technology behind a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the end of 2025. The POC will involve controlled testing and simulated transactions in which the BCCh will be the sole participant. The BCCh began its CBDC work in 2021, and in March 2024 it published a report in which it gave an account of lessons learned from different stakeholders. [Source: BCCh]