Digital currencies and fintech

• Payments on Digital Platforms: Resiliency, Interoperability and Welfare

  Staff Working Paper 2021-19 Jonathan Chiu, Tsz-Nga Wong

  This paper studies the business model choice between running a cash platform and a token platform, as well as its welfare and policy implications.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Monetary policy, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E5, L, L5

• Stablecoin Assessment Framework

  Staff Discussion Paper 2021-6 Alejandro García, Bena Lands, Dennis Yanchus

  We offer relevant authorities a three-step assessment framework they can use to understand, identify and quantify the risks associated with stablecoin and other cryptocurrency arrangements.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D7, D78, D8, D81, G, G0, G01, G1, G18, O, O3, O38

• Monetary Policy Pass-Through with Central Bank Digital Currency

  Staff Working Paper 2021-10 Janet Hua Jiang, Yu Zhu

  Many central banks are considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC). This would introduce a new policy tool—interest on CBDC. We investigate how this new tool would interact with traditional monetary policy tools, such as the interest on central bank reserves.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E52

• Cash and COVID-19: The Effects of Lifting Containment Measures on Cash Demand and Use

  Staff Discussion Paper 2021-3 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Julia Zhu

  Using Bank Note Distribution System data on the demand for cash up to September 2020, we find that demand was strong. This is true even though cash use for payments declined early in the pandemic. When mobility restrictions and lockdown measures were eased, cash use for payments increased sharply but remained less popular than electronic methods of payment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54
• February 11, 2021

  Canadian universities propose designs for a central bank digital currency

  The Bank of Canada is researching potential system designs and business models for a digital currency that, like a banknote, would be widely accessible, secure and denominated in Canadian dollars.

  Content Type(s): Press, Announcements Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech
• February 10, 2021

  Changing how we pay

  Speech summary Timothy Lane Institute for Data Valorisation Montréal, Quebec

  Deputy Governor Timothy Lane discusses how the pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of the economy.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Cryptocurrencies, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems
• February 10, 2021

  Payments innovation beyond the pandemic

  Remarks (delivered virtually) Timothy Lane Institute for Data Valorisation Montréal, Quebec

  Deputy Governor Timothy Lane talks about how the Bank of Canada is contributing to the modernization of our payments ecosystem, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to make payments more convenient for all Canadians.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Cryptocurrencies, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems

• Estimating Policy Functions in Payments Systems Using Reinforcement Learning

  Staff Working Paper 2021-7 Pablo S. Castro, Ajit Desai, Han Du, Rodney J. Garratt, Francisco Rivadeneyra

  We demonstrate the ability of reinforcement learning techniques to estimate the best-response functions of banks participating in high-value payments systems—a real-world strategic game of incomplete information.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): A, A1, A12, C, C7, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E42, E5, E58

• Eggs in One Basket: Security and Convenience of Digital Currencies

  Staff Working Paper 2021-6 Charles M. Kahn, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Tsz-Nga Wong

  Digital currencies store balances in anonymous electronic addresses. This paper analyzes the trade-offs between the safety and convenience of aggregating balances in addresses, electronic wallets and banks.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E51, E58

• Losing Contact: The Impact of Contactless Payments on Cash Usage

  Staff Working Paper 2020-56 Marie-Hélène Felt

  Contactless payment cards are a competitive alternative to cash. Using Canadian panel data from 2010 to 2017, this study investigates whether contactless credit cards are an important contributor to the decline in the transactional use of cash. 

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Financial services JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E41