NEW FORM OF MONEY NEEDED SAYS MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE AT GFF 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- In the new architecture of Web 3.0, asset transfers are not only done traditionally, therefore we need a new form of money that transacts on a distributed ledger, according to Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Sopnendu Mohanty.

“Therefore today, the central bank needs to come up with a new form of money - a legal tender that excludes private currencies, as it doesn't act like a payment instrument,” said Mohanty speaking at Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2022, at a fireside chat with Smita Aggarwal, Global Investments Advisor of Flourish Ventures.

GFF 2022 was organised and presented by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, Reserve Bank of India, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), National Payments Council of India, the Payments Council of India (PCI) and the Fintech Convergence Council (FCC).

According to a statement, it was held between Sept 20 and 22, 2022 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Pre-event festivities began virtually on Sept 19, 2022.

“Under the new architecture, tokenisation will enable both asset ownership and transfer of value to happen in real-time,” said Mohanty.

“The new form of money will lead to massive disintermediation whereby the connectivity between the central banks of different nations will not just bring down the cost of cross-border transfers but will also enable one to seamlessly use his local UPI anywhere in the world.

“We have successfully connected the UPI equivalent network of Singapore known as PayNow, with Thailand’s PromPay, to facilitate seamless cross-border transfers.

“We are now planning to connect to India by end of this year, and also in Malaysia, which will bring about a significant drop in the cost of cross-border transfers,” he added.

According to Mohanty, ‘wholesale CBDC’ will not just make cross-border transfers more efficient and cost-effective but will also address challenges pertaining to regulations, processes and compliances.

Special Partners of GFF 2022 are World Bank Group, United Nations Capital Development Fund, BIS Innovation Hub, KNOMAD, Better Than Cash Alliance and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

-- BERNAMA