Mohammad Y Al-Hashel: Steering fintech for a prosperous society

Keynote address by His Excellency Dr Mohammad Y Al-Hashel, Governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait, at the Global Informatics Forum, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait City, 27 November 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction 

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you are 30 years old or younger, by a show of hands, how many of you have heard that sound before?

You may not all be familiar with it but that, about 20 years ago, was the sound of a modem connecting to the internet. It was the latest technology at that time, and it was the envy of older generations who had never dreamed of seeing such luxuries during their lifetimes. This was the sound of the world of connectivity that was about to be unleashed.

Let us consider how far we have come.