Instant payments contribute to innovation and efficiency – how to manage risks to boost development
Consumers have become accustomed to instant payments and expect to be able to make transactions quickly and securely. The benefits of instant payments are many. For instance, they contribute to increased innovation and efficiency in the payments market.
At the same time, instant payments, like other types of payments, involve risks that need to be properly managed. For example, a liquidity risk could materialise more quickly as the speed of payment increases. To manage this risk, the Riksbank has enabled the settlement of instant payments in central bank money.
A staff memo written by staff at the Riksbank discusses the stability risks associated with instant payments and how they are managed today, and could be managed in the future. They also note that the risks should not be seen as an obstacle to the further development of instant payments.
Authors: Claire Ingram Bogusz from the Department of Financial Stability, and Anna Ohlsson Brozek and Mattias Gidoff Grahn, both from the Payments Department
Staff memo
A Staff Memo provides members of the Riksbank’s staff with the opportunity to publish advanced analyses of relevant issues. It is a publication for civil servants that is free of policy conclusions and individual standpoints on current policy issues. Publication is approved by the appropriate Head of Department. The opinions expressed in Staff Memos are those of the authors and should not be regarded as the Riksbank’s standpoint.