About the BIS Innovation Hub
The BIS Innovation Hub develops and tests prototypes and proofs of concept for the global central banking community. It also fosters collaboration among central banks and public authorities, promoting shared approaches to technological change.
The mandate is threefold:
- to identify and develop in-depth insights into critical trends in technology affecting central banking,
- to develop public goods in the technology space geared towards improving the functioning of the global financial system,
- to serve as a focal point for a network of central bank experts on innovation.
BIS Innovation Hub projects are experimental in nature, for the purpose of investigating technological and practical feasibility.
BIS Innovation Hub work programme summary
The BIS Innovation Hub collaborates with central banks to identify relevant technology trends, engage in practical experimentation and foster international cooperation so that central banks can leverage technology to more efficiently fulfil their mandates.
It does this by focusing on explorative projects, leveraging economies of scale, and applying results across borders.
The BIS Innovation Hub has a three-pronged approach:
- carrying out a broad horizon scanning exercise and investigating the needs of central banks,
- engaging in hands-on project development,
- exchanging knowledge and lessons learned.
Throughout, projects build on previous experiments and lessons.
Projects
BIS Innovation Hub projects help inform policymakers by providing practical technological insights. Guided by a horizon-scanning exercise, projects in the current work programme are applying artificial intelligence (AI), tokenisation and cyber security technologies to central bank use cases.
AI is a transformative technology with significant potential for central banking. The BIS Innovation Hub helps central banks respond to AI developments in areas such as financial markets, and to incorporate AI in internal processes such as liquidity forecasting and supervision.
Tokenisation has the potential to reshape the monetary and financial system. The BIS Innovation Hub is exploring ways to leverage tokenisation to improve monetary policy operations and cross-border payments.
The evolving nature of cybercrime and digital interconnectedness increases the importance of cybersecurity for central banks. The BIS Innovation Hub is focusing on developing tools to assess risks to protect its systems and enhance surveillance of the financial sector.
BIS Innovation Hub management
Innovation Hub centres and centre heads
Other members of the management team are affiliated with regional hub centres. We have multidisciplinary teams located in Frankfurt/Paris, Hong Kong SAR, London, Singapore, Stockholm, Switzerland and Toronto.
The BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre opened in March 2023 as a joint venture of the BIS and all the Eurosystem central banks. The Eurosystem Centre has offices in Frankfurt and in Paris, hosted and supported by the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Bank of France. The European Central Bank coordinates the interactions of the Eurosystem with the Centre. The Centre's project focus areas are decentralised finance, wholesale CBDC, cyber security and green finance.
Collaboration is encoded into Europe's DNA. The Eurosystem comprises the central banks of the euro area countries, plus the European Central Bank. Thanks to this unique configuration, the innovative forces of the entire euro area are blended with those of the BIS Innovation Hub's global network of Hub centres. The Eurosystem Centre is situated in two of Europe's most important financial hubs, Frankfurt and Paris.
- Frankfurt, the "city of the euro", is the only city in the world that is home to two central banks. It also hosts many globally significant commercial banks, which are complemented by an energetic startup culture. The Eurosystem Centre Frankfurt office is located at the Trianon, next to the Bundesbank's "InnoWerk", allowing it to leverage the innovative potential of the central banks as well as the financial sector.
- Paris is a global economic metropolis that hosts significant research and development centres and major tech companies. The city is home to a number of major financial institutions as well as a thriving startup ecosystem. The Eurosystem Centre Paris office is next to "Le Lab", the open innovation hub of the Banque de France. To learn more about upcoming collaborations between Le Lab and its innovative ecosystem, visit the Banque de France innovation platform here.
Andras Valko
Acting Centre Head of the Eurosystem Centre
BIS Innovation Hub
Our team
We design and implement projects in cooperation with central banks and other Innovation Hub centres. Further, we represent the centre in fintech events, academic conferences or committees. We are also active participants in the research community.
Would you like to join the Eurosystem Centre team? You can reach us at eurocentre@bisih.org.
The BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Hong Kong SAR was established in 2019. Its current project focus areas are CBDC, open finance and green finance.
A city full of contrasts and surprises, Hong Kong buzzes with activity and is a constant source of inspiration, change and innovation. And as an international financial centre, Hong Kong plays a "hub" role itself - between east and west, for China and the world, for trade and for RMB internationalisation. On the 79th floor of the second tallest building in the city, the Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre overlooks the harbour. Set in this vibrant financial ecosystem, the Hub Centre plays its innovation role by collaborating closely with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, whose premises it shares.
The BIS Innovation Hub London Centre was established in 2021. Its current project focus areas are central bank digital currency (CBDC), next generation financial market infrastructures and supervisory technology (suptech).
London is renowned as a world leading financial centre. The city drives financial innovation by harnessing its thriving tech ecosystem, world-class universities, research institutions and deep knowledge of financial markets.
Physically located at Threadneedle Street the BIS Innovation Hub London Centre is also connected to the wider fintech communities across the UK, in Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales. Sitting at the heart of these communities, the BISIH London Centre plays an innovative role by leveraging the talent and expertise in the UK fintech community and building strong collaborative partnerships with both public and private sector innovators.
If you want to find out more about our projects, please email London.Centre@bisih.org.
The BIS Innovation Hub Nordic Centre in Stockholm was established in 2021 by the Bank for International Settlements in collaboration with Sveriges Riksbank, Danmarks Nationalbank, the Central Bank of Iceland, and Norges Bank. Its current project focus areas are Cyber Security and AI in financial market infrastructures.
The Nordic centre is located in the Epicenter House of Innovation, a hub for technology companies and entrepreneurs in Stockholm.
The BISIH Nordic Centre can be reached at NordicCentre@bisih.org.
The BIS Innovation Hub Centre in Singapore was established in 2019. Its current project focus areas are suptech, regtech, CBDC and next-generation Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs).
The Singapore Centre benefits from being based in a region with extremely vibrant fintech ecosystems, where rapid technological developments are taking place. We have a ready network of co-innovators and partners with which to collaborate and be involved in path-breaking technologies as they are incubated and rolled out.
The BIS Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, established in 2019, is one of the founding Innovation Hub centres, with offices in Basel and Zurich. It is a partnership between the BIS and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). Today, the Swiss Centre focuses on two fast-moving areas: AI-enabled data analytics and tokenisation.
Switzerland combines its traditional strengths of stability, security and trust with an openness to innovation. It was among the first countries to draft legal provisions on the use of distributed ledger technology, and has simplified the approval process for fintech startups.
The Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, with offices in Basel and Zurich, is embedded in this dynamic and versatile ecosystem via its close partnership with the Swiss National Bank as well as collaboration with regulatory agencies, industry associations, private sector firms and market infrastructure providers.
The Toronto Innovation Centre was established in June 2024 in collaboration with the Bank of Canada.
It supports the responsible adoption of technology by central banks and supervisory authorities across three interconnected areas: artificial intelligence (AI) and data, payments modernisation and cyber security.
As the BIS Innovation Hub Centre in the Americas, it develops public goods that support central banks in the region and beyond, including research, technical outputs, frameworks, evaluation approaches, strategic insights and reference implementations.
The Centre draws on a strong research ecosystem, deep expertise in AI, payments and cyber security, and a dynamic fintech community to generate practical, reusable insights for the global central banking community.
Strategic partnership
The BIS has also formed a strategic partnership with the Federal Reserve System in New York.
As part of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the New York Innovation Center (NYIC), bridges the worlds of finance, technology, and innovation.
Launched in 2021 and established in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub, the NYIC generates insights into high-value central bank-related opportunities through technical research, experimentation, and prototyping, to drive advancements in central banking and enhance the functioning of the global financial system.
The NYIC Model: Delivering Progress Through Collaboration
The NYIC model leverages cross-functional teams, drawing on the subject matter expertise and capabilities of partners in the central banking community. The NYIC collaborates with experts across the Federal Reserve System, with the BIS Innovation Hub via the strategic partnership, academia, and the private sector.
- Conducts extensive technical research to determine the focus needed to deliver high-impact value.
- Develops bespoke experiments to test focused hypotheses and solution concepts.
- Shares findings and further collaborates with partners to identify the next innovation opportunity.
The NYIC Team
Per von Zelowitz (Director), Morgan White (Strategist), Chris Desch (Architect), Jon Durfee (Product)
The Work
See here for the latest research and analysis from the New York Innovation Center.
If you want to find out more about our projects, please email NYIC@ny.frb.org.