BIS Innovation Summit 2025: Future-proofing central banks

To stay ahead of the curve, central banks must adopt forward-thinking strategies that integrate key dimensions such as technological innovation, regulatory challenges, financial inclusion, sustainability and collaboration. Such an approach sets the stage for a comprehensive discussion on how they can effectively navigate the complexities of the future financial environment.

Panellists

• Martin Schlegel (Chairman of the Governing Board, Swiss National Bank)
• Eddie Yue (Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority)

Moderator
Andréa M Maechler (Deputy General Manager, BIS and Acting Head, BIS Innovation Hub)

Innovation knows no borders. This session will uncover how cross-border collaboration is powering new solutions to global financial challenges. The panellists will explore partnerships with regulators, academia and industry, discover approaches to enhancing oversight, and learn how knowledge-sharing can unlock greater impact.

Panellists

• Aino Bunge (Deputy Governor, Sveriges Riksbank)
• José Luís Calderón (CEO, PagoNxt Payments)
• Andrew McCormack (CEO, Nexus Global Payments)

Moderator
Gaston Gelos (Deputy Head of MED and Head of Financial Stability Policy, BIS)

Financial crime continues to evolve, and the BIS Innovation Hub is responding with fresh approaches that blend technology, collaboration and insight. Building on projects Aurora, Hertha and Mandala, the session will share how a new technology stack is helping to protect the integrity of financial systems. Participants will hear how an ecosystem approach, privacy-preserving data sharing and behavioural insights come together to strengthen defences. Looking ahead, the discussion will explore how future projects, including Polaris and Raven, could lay the groundwork for a broader framework to prevent financial crime.

Projects

• Aurora 
• Hertha 
• Mandala

Speakers

• Maha El Dimachki (Head, BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre)
• Francesca Hopwood Road (Head, BIS Innovation Hub London Centre)
• Beju Shah (Head, BIS Innovation Hub Toronto Centre)

Central banks are increasingly shifting their focus from whether new ideas are feasible to whether they are truly viable and sustainable. While many initiatives still ask if something can be done, the conversation is now turning to whether it should be done and how it can be achieved effectively. This session will explore what it takes to move towards implementation, particularly when emerging technologies open the door to new models.

Speaker
François Villeroy de Galhau (Governor, Bank of France)

Moderator
Sarah Breeden (Deputy Governor, Bank of England)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to re-shape the way central banks operate, from strengthening monetary policy with advanced data analysis and real time monitoring to transforming regulatory and supervisory technology through automated compliance and fraud detection. This panel will consider how AI is being applied to financial stability, risk management and payments, while also discussing the strategies needed for flexible integration, including continuous learning and active engagement with stakeholders.

Panellists

• Rashad Cassim (Deputy Governor, South African Reserve Bank)
• Peter Andrew Gallagher (Chief Representative of the European Office, Reserve Bank of Australia)
• Lewis Liu (Co-Founder & CEO, Twin-1 AI and Founder & CEO, Eigen Technologies)
• Hatice Karahan (Deputy Governor, Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye)
   

Moderator
Hyun Song Shin (Economic Adviser and Head of MED, BIS)

Labour input is more than head count or hours worked. Seen through the lens of human capital, it reflects investments in education, on-the-job training and an understanding of the economic system, which together shape productivity. This session will explore how these elements come into play, while also examining the way emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, are reshaping skill requirements in central banking. The discussion will highlight how new capabilities influence decision making, analysis and operations, and how individual output can enhance the efficiency of others through productive interactions in an increasingly technology-driven environment.

Speakers

• Joseph B Fuller (Professor of Management Practice in General Management and Entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School)
• Tim Hermans (Member of the Executive Board, National Bank of Belgium)
   

Moderator
Karmela Holtgreve (Deputy Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Operations)

As artificial intelligence becomes ever more present and ever more powerful, it becomes a necessity to develop frameworks, controls and processes to reduce its inherent risks. Ethics, security and trust are deeply intertwined, and need to be considered in the context of the unprecedented technological penetration. This is a field that has to move at a significant speed to generate boundaries that allow people to feel safe and trust the systems so that societies can make the most of this powerful technology. In this talk, we will delve into tangible processes and methodologies that can support these goals.

Speaker
Dawn Song (Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley)

Moderator
Miguel Díaz (Deputy Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Strategy)

This session explores how AI is transforming central banking functions through BIS Innovation Hub projects Spectrum, Neo and Insight, with speakers discussing AI applications in monetary policy, supervision, and regtech. The panel will share insights on implementation challenges, governance frameworks, and systemic impacts of AI adoption in central banking.

Projects

• Insight
• Neo 
• Spectrum

Speakers

• Raphael Auer (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre)
• Morten Bech (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Swiss Centre)
• Bénédicte Nolens (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre)

Central bank projects often evolve from initial concepts into actionable insights and operational solutions. This discussion will highlight critical success factors that can guide future public-private collaboration in financial infrastructure.

Speakers

• Fritzi Köhler-Geib (Member of the Executive Board, Deutsche Bundesbank)
• Daranee Saeju (Assistant Governor, Bank of Thailand)

Moderator
Kenneth Gay (Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore)

The future of financial infrastructure is being reshaped by tokenisation. BIS Innovation Hub projects Genesis, Pine and Promissa reveal how digital financial systems are evolving, exploring both the challenges and opportunities of these technologies. The discussion will provide forward-looking insights into how tokenisation and distributed ledger technology are transforming financial markets.

Projects

• Genesis
• Pine
• Promissa

Speakers

• Morten Bech (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Swiss Centre)
• Bénédicte Nolens (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre)
• Per von Zelowitz (Director of the New York Innovation Centre, Federal Reserve Bank of New York)

Explore how projects FuSSE, Leap Phase 2 and Polaris are contributing to a more secure and adaptable financial system. The session will share lessons from each project’s journey, showing how modular design and cryptographic agility can strengthen resilience. Participants will examine a layered approach to cybersecurity, from infrastructure to encryption to digital money design, and consider how it can help future-proof the financial system. The discussion will connect strategic insights with practical takeaways for central banks preparing for emerging threats.

Projects

• FuSSE 
• Leap Phase 2
• Polaris 

Speakers

• Beju Shah (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Toronto Centre)
• Raphael Auer (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre)

Cross-border payments face complex challenges and opportunities, requiring coordinated efforts to achieve meaningful progress. This panel will bring together diverse stakeholders to share strategies, insights and experiences, reviewing progress so far, identifying key obstacles and outlining steps to accelerate improvements. The discussion will explore evolving payments infrastructures landscape, the potential of emerging technologies and the critical role of global collaborations in making cross border transactions faster, safer and more efficient.

Panellists

• Timothy D Adams (President & CEO, Institute of International Finance)
• Victoria Cleland (Chief Cashier and Executive Director for Payments, Bank of England)
• Stefan Ingves (Former Governor, Sveriges Riksbank and Member, Bretton Woods Committee)
• Yuan Lyu (Director of Innovation Division, Digital Currency Institute, People’s Bank of China)
   

Moderator
Rodney Garratt (Professor, Department of Economics, University of California at Santa Barbara) 

Project Agorá aims to test the desirability, feasibility and viability of a multi-currency unified ledger for wholesale cross-border payments. The project is a public-private collaboration that seeks to use new technology to improve the correspondent banking model.

Speaker
Morten Bech (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Swiss Centre)

Discover how the BIS Innovation Hub is using challenge-based initiatives to shape the future of central banking. This session will highlight two flagship projects, the G20 TechSprint and the BIS Analytics Challenge, showcasing how they identify emerging technologies and data-driven innovations. By leveraging strong public-private partnerships, these initiatives surface actionable insights, foster collaborative experimentation and strengthen the wider Innovation Hub ecosystem while supporting strategic foresight across the central banking community.

Speakers

• Bénédicte Nolens (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre)
• Francesca Hopwood Road (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub London Centre)

This fireside chat will explore how disruptive forces and emerging technologies such as, tokenisation, artificial intelligence and quantum computing are reshaping the financial system. The speakers will discuss which innovations will be most profound and transformative. The discussion will weigh in on both the risks and opportunities, considering how central banks, regulators and industry leaders can harness innovation to shape tomorrow’s financial landscape while safeguarding trust in money and the financial system.

Speakers

• Neha Narula (Director of the Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab)
• Thierry Chilosi (Chief Business and Strategy Officer, Swift)

Moderator
Maha El Dimachki (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre)

This session will explore how key findings and outputs from BISIH projects that comprise the compliance stack (Aurora, Hertha, Mandala, Raven and Polaris) can provide building blocks for future projects and initiatives to combat illicit financial activities like money laundering, terrorism financing, fraud and scams.

Speakers

• George Danezis (Professor of Security and Privacy Engineering in the Department of Computer Science, University College London)
• Maha El Dimachki (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre)
• Francesca Hopwood Road (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub London Centre)
• Noella Dushime Kajeneri (Managing Director of Government Services, Proto Global)
   

Moderator
Per von Zelowitz (Director of the New York Innovation Center, Federal Reserve Bank of New York)

Discover practical lessons on interoperability and scalability from innovation projects, with a focus on cross-border payments and central bank money. The session will explore best practices for overcoming interoperability challenges and strategies for successfully scaling innovation initiatives.

Speakers

• Hart Montgomery (CTO, Linux Foundation)
• Neha Narula (Director, Digital Currency Initiative, MIT Media Lab)
• Rebecca Simmons (Partner, Sullivan & Cromwell)
• Victoria Richardson (Partner, ID Partners)
• Rachel Whelan (APAC & MEA Head of Corporate Cash Management & Global Head of Payments & Transactional FX Product Management, Deutsche Bank)
   

Moderator
Jon Frost (Head of Innovation and the Digital Economy, BIS)

Participants will examine practical implementations of agentic AI in monetary policy, payments, and supervisory and regulatory technology, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of adoption. The discussion will also cover governance considerations and potential systemic impacts, providing insights into how these technologies could shape the future of central banking operations.

Speakers

• Ricardo Correa (Senior Advisor, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System)
• Mayte Ledo (Director General for Strategy, People & Data, Bank of Spain)
• Fernando Pérez-Cruz (Senior Adviser, BIS)
• Dawn Song (Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley)
• Thomas Zschach (Chief Innovation Officer, SWIFT)
   

Moderator
Bénédicte Nolens (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre)

As central banks and public authorities modernise financial market infrastructures, they face two key challenges: enhancing existing systems to meet current demands, and preparing new models for the future. In this roundtable, speakers from the private sector, public sector, and international organisations will discuss how to balance these priorities.

Speakers

• Jon Frost (Head of Innovation and the Digital Economy, BIS)
• Kenneth Gay (Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore)
• José Luis Langa (Deputy Managing Director, Iberpay)
• Andrew McCormack (CEO, Nexus Global Payments)
• Audrey Metzger (Director of Innovation and Financial Market Infrastructures, Bank of France)
• Tom Mutton (Director of Fintech, Bank of England)
   

Moderator
Maha El Dimachki (Head of the BIS Innovation Hub Singapore Centre)

Central banks have been early adopters of machine learning techniques for statistics, macro analysis, payment systems oversight and supervision, with considerable success. Currently, the usage of generative AI based on LLMs brings many opportunities in support of central bank mandates, but also challenges – some general and others specific to central banks. To share experiences and lessons in AI adoption by central banks. To discuss best practices for the responsible adoption of AI in central banks.

Speakers

• Dessi Cheytanova (General Counsel, BIS)
• Maryam Haghighi (Director, Enterprise Data Science and Insights, Bank of Canada)
• Dawn Song (Professor of Computer Science, University of California Berkeley)
   

Moderator
Miguel Díaz (Deputy Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Strategy)
 

In an era of rapid technology change, central banks must also innovate and leverage new technology to prepare for the future. But what does the future look like? This session will explore how central banks are working with horizon scanning and look at some key technology trends affecting the financial system.

Speakers

• Melissa Davey (Director of the Independent Evaluation Office, Bank of England)
• Lucía Gómez Teijeiro (Professor, Dozentin Tenure Track, Bern University of Applied Sciences)
• José Manuel Marquéz Sevillano (Director of the Financial Innovation and Market Infrastructures Department, Bank of Spain)
• Andras Valko (Deputy Head, BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre)
   

Moderator
Karmela Holtgreve (Deputy Head of the BIS Innovation Hub, Operations)

Confidential computing, particularly trusted execution environments, is unlocking new ways to secure data and protect privacy. Participants will discuss practical applications and challenges, showing how these technologies can enable secure data processing and collaboration in central banking and financial market operations.

Speakers

• Adi Ben-Ari (Founder & CEO, Applied Blockchain)
• Christof Fetzer (Chair of Systems Engineering, Technical University of Dresden)
• Bertrand Foing (Founder & CEO, Secretarium & Klave)
• Co-Pierre Georg (Director of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management)
• Ijlal Loutfi (Product Lead for Ubuntu Foundation Security, Canonical)
• Vasily Pozdyshev (Senior Advisor, Financial Stability Institute, BIS)
   

Moderator
Michael Montijo (Head of Information Technology and Services, BIS)