May 11, 2018 Payments Canada, the Bank of Canada, TMX Group, Accenture and R3 Demonstrate Feasibility of Instantaneous Equity Settlement through Distributed Ledger Technology This joint press release describes the preliminary findings of the third phase of the Project Jasper research initiative. Content Type(s): Press, Press releases Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech
A Policy Framework for E-Money: A Report on Bank of Canada Research Staff Discussion Paper 2018-5 Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Francisco Rivadeneyra We present a policy framework for electronic money and payments. The framework poses a set of positive questions related to the areas of responsibility of central banks: payments systems, monetary policy and financial stability. The questions are posed to four broad forms of e-money: privately or publicly issued, and with centralized or decentralized verification of transactions. This framework is intended to help evaluate the trade-offs that central banks face in the decision to issue new forms of e-money. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Monetary policy, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E5, E51, E52, E58
March 22, 2018 Financial Stability: Taking Care of Unfinished Business Remarks Carolyn A. Wilkins Rotman School of Management conference Toronto, Ontario Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn A. Wilkins discusses three areas in which work remains to be done to improve financial stability. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Credit and credit aggregates, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Monetary policy framework, Recent economic and financial developments
Blockchain Revolution Without the Blockchain Staff Analytical Note 2018-5 Hanna Halaburda The technology behind blockchain has attracted a lot of attention. However, this technology is for the most part not well understood. There is no consensus on what benefits it may bring or on how it may fail. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Recent economic and financial developments, Service sector JEL Code(s): D, D8, G, G2, O, O3, O33
Merchant Acceptance of Cash and Credit Cards at the Point of Sale Staff Analytical Note 2018-1 Ben Fung, Kim Huynh, Kerry Nield, Angelika Welte Recent data show that the use of credit cards in Canada has been increasing, while the use of cash has been declining. At the same time, only two-thirds of small or medium-sized businesses accept credit cards. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Financial services JEL Code(s): C, C2, D, D1, E, E4, E41
December 14, 2017 Three Things Keeping Me Awake at Night Remarks Stephen S. Poloz Canadian Club Toronto Toronto, Ontario Governor Stephen S. Poloz discusses his long-term economic preoccupations now that the Canadian economy has nearly completed its journey home. Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial stability, Housing, Monetary policy, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Potential output
Bitcoin Awareness and Usage in Canada Staff Working Paper 2017-56 Christopher Henry, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls There has been tremendous discussion of Bitcoin, digital currencies and FinTech. However, there is limited empirical evidence of Bitcoin’s adoption and usage. We propose a methodology to collect a nationally representative sample using the Bitcoin Omnibus Survey (BTCOS) to track the ubiquity and usage of Bitcoin in Canada. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, E, E4
Competing Currencies in the Laboratory Staff Working Paper 2017-53 Janet Hua Jiang, Cathy Zhang We investigate competition between two intrinsically worthless currencies as a result of decentralized interactions between human subjects. We design a laboratory experiment based on a simple two-country, two-currency search model to study factors that affect circulation patterns and equilibrium selection. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech JEL Code(s): C, C9, C92, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E40
Central Bank Digital Currency: Motivations and Implications Staff Discussion Paper 2017-16 Walter Engert, Ben Fung The emergence of digital currencies such as Bitcoin and the underlying blockchain and distribution ledger technology have attracted significant attention. These developments have raised the possibility of considerable impacts on the financial system and perhaps the wider economy. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5
November 16, 2017 Acceptance and Use of Payments at the Point of Sale in Canada Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 2017 Ben Fung, Kim Huynh, Anneke Kosse Merchants universally accept cash. Consumers widely hold cash but also carry debit and credit cards. The cost of using a method of payment has only a small influence on which method consumers use. Large merchants accept all payments, while only two-thirds of small and medium-sized businesses accept credit cards. Merchants report that credit cards are the costliest payment method compared with cash and debit cards. However, costs are not the only consideration. Merchant acceptance of credit accounts for the many con-sumers that want to use credit cards. This interaction between consumers and merchants is known as network externalities. Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D2, D23, D24, E, E4, E41, E42, G, G2, G21, L, L2