The BIS Innovation Hub’s (BISIH) first academia workshop, held from 10 to 13 June 2025, convened distinguished professors specialising in advanced information technologies, financial technology, economics and law, alongside decision makers and experts from the BIS. The workshop focused on exploring the application of technology in the financial sector and marked the launch of the BISIH’s academic engagement programme.
The workshop combined sessions that highlighted perspectives from senior BIS decision-makers with sessions exploring technologies and their potential benefits. Open discussions between BIS leaders and academics set the context for the consecutive sessions, which focused on key technology themes. These discussions were framed around real-world policy needs, such as security, interoperability, inclusivity and regulatory compliance, ensuring that the discussions were both forward-looking and grounded in practical realities.
As financial systems adapt to rapid technological shifts, a compelling narrative is emerging – one in which intelligence, security, interoperability, and identity converge to reshape the foundations of finance. Large language models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence (AI) are driving unprecedented automation and insight. This growing impact places pressure on system architecture and governance to evolve in tandem. In response, composable, scalable infrastructures – built for verifiability and trust – are becoming the backbone of next-generation financial systems. Achieving seamless interoperability is a challenge, as value flows across disparate systems with varying definitions of finality and trust. Privacy technologies, especially when embedded by design, must scale with throughput to meet institutional and user expectations, while