Money, digital assets and payments in the Americas
Remarks by Alexandre Tombini, Chief Representative, Representative Office for the Americas, Bank for International Settlements, in policy panel "The future of money: What's next for Mexico and the world", at the 89th Banking Convention in Cancún, Mexico, 19 March 2026.
Good morning and thank you to the Mexican Banking Association for the invitation to join this timely discussion. It is a privilege to be here to reflect on the future of money, digital assets and payments – profound topics for Mexico, the Americas region and the global economy.
Cancún is a perfect setting to discuss digitalisation as an economist and a central banker. In its current form, this is a planned city. In the 1960s, the Bank of Mexico assessed areas for touristic development. To determine suitable locations, economists sifted through vast amounts of data using early computer processing. To choose a location amongst thousands of kilometres of shoreline, they weighed the allure of warm weather and blue seas against risks such as hurricanes and marine safety (Dunphy (1972)). Thus, it is no coincidence we are meeting at this location.
The future of money is tightly linked to digitalisation. We live in a world of demanding users. When we order food or book a flight from our mobile phones, we expect digital services to be convenient, instant and cheap without sacrificing security. And we expect the same from financial services and payments.
