Andréa M Maechler: The evolution of payment systems in the digital age - a central bank perspective

Speech by Ms Andréa M Maechler, Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, and Mr Thomas Moser, Alternate Member of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Money Market Event, Zurich, 28 March 2019.

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

Central bank speech  | 
28 March 2019

Ladies and Gentlemen

Welcome to the Swiss National Bank's biannual Money Market Event. Tonight, we have chosen to focus on a subject that is becoming increasingly topical in light of developments in digitalisation: payment systems. This is a fascinating field, not just for the private sector, but also for central banks, as payment systems and monetary policy are closely interconnected.

The SNB's monetary policy is designed to ensure price stability, which in turn maintains confidence in the value of our currency. At our quarterly assessment last week, we decided to leave our expansionary monetary policy stance unchanged. For the year 2019, we expect growth of around 1.5% in Switzerland, compared to 2.5% growth in 2018. The inflation forecast has been revised downwards. We now expect an inflation rate of 0.3% for 2019. The Swiss franc is still highly valued and the situation on the foreign exchange market remains fragile. In this environment, both the negative interest rate and the SNB's willingness to intervene in the foreign exchange market as necessary remain essential. These measures allow us to ensure price stability - and thus fulfil our mandate in the interests of the country as a whole.