Fintech, or technological innovation used to support or provide financial services, has developed markedly in recent years, transforming the financial landscape and creating a number of challenges for public authorities (IMF-WB (2018), Carstens (2019)). These challenges are particularly material for central banks, as the “future of central banking is inextricably linked to innovation”. The transformation of financial markets is affecting the way they conduct their policies to ensure, among their policies to ensure, among other objectives, monetary and financial stability as well the smooth functioning of payment systems.
As regards central bank statisticians and their need for high-quality data to support policymaking, fintech gives rise to a number of issues. For example, what are the data sources available to measure fintech and how are they actually used? Which additional information is needed to support the conduct of central bank policies, and what are the data gaps? How should these gaps be addressed, considering costs/benefits trade-offs and the various stakeholders involved? And how should adequate statistical frameworks be developed for collecting comprehensive information given the global nature of the financial system?
To shed light on those various issues, the Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics (IFC) conducted a survey among its members in 2019.
