Eastern Caribbean Central Bank 2024-2025 Annual Report

EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK ANNUAL REPORT 2024 - 2025

Payments Modernisation and Financial Inclusion

T he modernisation of payments infrastructure is multifaceted and is regarded as the gateway for addressing matters of financial inclusion, in a more direct and sustainable way. The ECCB has been intentional in accelerating its modernisation efforts by enhancing the legislative framework to position the market for the delivery of an array of cost-effective and ubiquitous payment instruments and access channels, while strengthening its regulatory regime in anticipation of more inclusive, sophisticated and dynamic payments ecosystem. The ECCB continued to prioritise the development and adequacy of its oversight function. The framework for oversight andmonitoringof Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) and Payment Service Providers was finalised and includes: 1. Manual for Monitoring the Payment and Settlement System; 2. Manual for the Collection, Processing and Management of Information; 3. Manual for the Assessment and Management of Risks and Risk Models; and 4. Manual for Conducting Oversight Examinations. The Guidelines for the Designation of Payment and Settlement Systems in the ECCU and the Criteria for Fit and Proper Persons are under review. The ECCB commenced its comprehensive review and enhancement of the existing suite of data collection templates. The review will ensure that reporting requirements align with developments in the payments’ ecosystem. ECCU Payment System Oversight and Cooperation

A second round of self-assessments against the CPMI-IOSCO PFMIs was administered to designated FMIs in December 2024. Intelligence garnered will be used to set the scope of the upcoming on-site examinations. At the end of January 2025, the Supply Side Survey was developed and administered across a broad cross-section of payment service providers in the ECCU, including: commercial banks, FMIs, credit unions, money transfer operators and fintechs. The survey was strategically aligned with the Bank’s public policy objectives for payments: modernisation, accessibility, safety, inclusion, and efficiency. The objective of the survey was to enhance the Bank’s understanding of the infrastructure that underpins the payment and settlement system in the ECCU, and identify risks and areas for improvement. The Bank has on boarded payments service providers to submit two types of reports, namely: (i) monthly data on payment systems activity and (ii) reports on any incidents affecting payment operations. This initiative was executed to improve the collection of payment systems data, support better monitoring of financial market infrastructure and strengthen the resilience of the payments’ ecosystem. DCash 2.0 The Bank undertook comprehensive data processing and reporting of the results from a DCash Public Opinion Survey. That allowed the Bank to collect key insights into public sentiment regarding the adoption of digital currency. The Bank enhanced data collection related to payments,

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