Central bank roles as payments diversify
The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), hosted by the Bank for International Settlements, published an analysis on Oct. 29 setting out four central bank roles in increasingly diverse payments: issuer, operator, overseer and catalyst. It considers stablecoins, tokenized deposits and programmable platforms alongside other payment innovations.
In its official announcement and online publication summary, CPMI describes central bank money as the foundation for trusted settlement, alongside private payment services that support innovation, competition and user choice. The publication connects digital money to practical decisions over account access, infrastructure, oversight and coordination.
The publication summary says central bank money provides the safest and most liquid settlement asset for systemically important systems. It also supports convertibility at par among different means of payment, meaning conversion at the same face value.
Private arrangements have a complementary place in that account. CPMI credits private entities with developing services for different user needs and contributing competition, efficiency and broader access. The framework therefore combines a common settlement anchor with room for different payment services and forms of private money.
CPMI examines stablecoins, tokenized deposits and programmable platforms alongside fast payment systems and non-bank payment providers. The common question is how these arrangements fit into the wider payments system.
The summary also identifies enduring forces: network effects, the relationship between concentration and fragmentation, and trust in money. New technical arrangements enter a system still shaped by those forces, making connections between participants part of the policy problem.
Four central bank roles, four sets of choices
As an issuer, a central bank considers which entities can hold central bank accounts, which services they can use and the terms of access. The three elements are linked: eligibility determines who can use an account, while services and terms define the practical scope of that access.
As an operator, it considers modernizing existing infrastructure or developing new platforms. CPMI places resilience, innovation and implementation risks together in that decision. A potential technical improvement has to be considered alongside the challenges of introducing and operating the infrastructure.
As an overseer, it assesses whether emerging arrangements, including stablecoins and tokenized arrangements, perform functions similar to financial market infrastructures. The release also points to systemic importance, governance and operational resilience. For digital-money arrangements, that directs attention toward the functions they perform and the risks they may create across the system.
As a catalyst, it convenes stakeholders to address collective action problems, supports market solutions and encourages common practices and industry standards. This role brings coordination into the same framework as account provision, infrastructure operation and oversight.
Complementary money in a shared payments systemA dedicated vertical mobile diagram connects central bank money and private arrangements through the shared payments system. It is schematic, not a flow of funds.CENTRAL BANK MONEYAnchor of trustSystemically important settlementSupports conversion at parPaymentssystemComplementaryrolesPRIVATE ARRANGEMENTSInnovation & choiceCompetition and servicesfor diverse user needs
Explore a policy role
Explore a policy roleIssuerOperatorOverseerCatalyst
Consider eligible entities, available services and access terms for central bank accounts.
Consider existing or new infrastructure while balancing resilience, innovation and implementation risks.
Assess whether emerging arrangements function like financial market infrastructures (FMIs), alongside systemic importance, governance and operational resilience.
Convene stakeholders and support market solutions, industry standards and common practices.
Access, infrastructure, oversight and coordination are connected policy choices as payments diversify.
Policy considerations, not binding global rules or enacted access changes. Benefits and risks remain conditional. Full report PDF not reviewed; geometry has no quantitative scale.
The committee considers the opportunities and risks of payment diversity together. CPMI describes the potential benefits conditionally. More arrangements may improve efficiency, competition and innovation. They may also create new interdependencies and introduce or amplify credit, liquidity, operational and cyber risks.
The release emphasizes considering policy tools together, adaptability and sustained international cooperation. It also recognizes that central bank policies may differ across jurisdictions.
