Disponible en Español

V Meeting of Heads of Financial Market Infrastructures

November 4 - 5, 2024
CEMLA Mexico City, Mexico

The CEMLA and the Banco de España organized the V Meeting of Heads of Financial Market Infrastructures, held in person on November 4 and 5, 2024. The event was attended by 33 representatives from 13 institutions belonging to CEMLA’s Associate and Collaborating members, representing 12 countries.

The first session addressed the topic of instant payments. In Europe, the importance of a solid regulatory framework (SEPA scheme) and the support of authorities (such as regulations to promote its use) for the expansion of instant payment systems was highlighted. In Costa Rica, the growth of the SINPE mobile payment system was presented, emphasizing its advantages and challenges. The second session focused on wholesale payment systems, analyzing the cases of Bolivia and El Salvador. It was emphasized that systems already consolidated before the COVID-19 pandemic increased their transaction volumes, strengthening their relevance. The last session of the day was on operational resilience and cybersecurity, highlighting the roles of entities in monitoring and supervision, as well as the importance of collaborative exercises to identify vulnerabilities and improve responses to cyber incidents. Finally, the fourth session discussed cross-border payments, addressing current challenges such as costs, settlement speed, access, and transparency. Efforts by the G20 to improve these aspects were highlighted, and the strengths and areas for improvement in the Central American payment interconnection system (SIPA) were analyzed.

The second day included three sessions. The first focused on the interoperability of payment systems, highlighting the progress made by the Banco de la Republica de Colombia in implementing IBAN under ISO 13616 and its new public digital infrastructure. Progress by the Banco de Mexico and challenges in cross-border payment interoperability were also presented, with 76% of transactions originating from the U.S. The second session addressed shortening the settlement cycle to T+1. In the European Union, benefits such as reduced counterparty risk and process modernization were highlighted, as well as challenges like increased settlement failures and liquidity requirements. In Mexico, the success in reducing the settlement cycle was emphasized, achieved through coordination between authorities and regulatory adjustments. The last session was dedicated to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), analyzing the challenges of the digital euro project and its objectives, as well as the pilot digital currency in Peru, which prioritizes gradual implementation and strategies for financial inclusion and education.

Activities