Digitalisation and interconnectivity are increasingly shaping payments in Europe and worldwide. Around 200 experts from business, academia and government institutions came together at the Bundesbank’s Payments Symposium to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the modern world of payments.

Lienenkämper: Payments need to work easily, quickly and seamlessly

In his speech, Bundesbank Executive Board member Lutz Lienenkämper stressed the central importance of interconnectivity in payments. The payments system of the future is one thing above all: interconnected, Mr Lienenkämper said. Payments needed to work seamlessly – whether in-store, online or between machines. In this context, it is crucial, in his view, to harmonise interfaces and promote standards.

Mr Lienenkämper particularly highlighted the European perspective. He stated that Europe needed strong and independent payment solutions, such as the mobile payment method Wero and the digital euro. Digital euro and private sector solutions are not alternatives, but two different levels, Mr Lienenkämper explained. He added that the contribution to European sovereignty lay precisely in the interplay between the two levels.

Focus on the digital euro, payment fraud and tokenisation

This was followed by several panel discussions that explored the key topics of the symposium.

The “Digital payments in Europe” panel focused on the challenges and opportunities of digital payments. Moderated by Esther Wandel (Deutsche Bundesbank), Tobias Frydl (Deutsche Bank), Friederike Lange (Federal Ministry of Finance), Christian M. Stiefmüller (Finance Watch) and Daniel Hellmann (BVR) discussed the digital euro as a central element of European sovereignty. Uniform standards, interoperability and widespread acceptance were cited as essential prerequisites for the success of the digital euro.

Pierre du Bois (EURO Kartensysteme GmbH) talked about payment fraud and how people could protect themselves from it. He cited phishing as the key threat in payments. In order to strengthen trust in payments, he called for further technological advances, accelerated reporting channels and increased education campaigns. An example was the “Phishing Impossible” initiative, which the Bundesbank is also backing.

In the "Artificial Intelligence in Payments” panel, Silke Finken (ISM Munich), Stephan Paxmann (LBBW), Karsten Meyer (d-fine) and Tobias Schweiger (Hawk) addressed the topic of payment fraud and how to prevent it. They gave an insight into the wide range of possibilities AI offers in payments and what would be necessary to not only want to use them but to also be able to use them.

In his speech, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone stressed the transformative power of tokenisation and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for financial markets, which could make processes more efficient and more highly automated. He drove home the point that Europe needed to act now to avoid fragmentation and create an integrated, competitive ecosystem for digital assets.

The role of new projects such as Pontes and Appia

The afternoon session was devoted primarily to the future of interbank payments. In a panel moderated by Julian Reischle (Deutsche Bundesbank), Holger Neuhaus (ECB), Jens Hachmeister (Deutsche Börse), Alexander Höptner (AllUnity), Ivica Aračić (SWIAT) and Tim Armbruster (KfW) discussed the importance of projects such as Pontes and Appia. These initiatives are designed to facilitate the resolution of DLT-based transactions in central bank money and to create an integrated, future-proof financial ecosystem in Europe. This objective is also behind the extension of the T2 operating hours, which was adressed by Karen Birkel (ECB).

Farewell to Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz

The symposium closed with a speech by outgoing Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz, whose eight-year term has come to its end. Balz looked back on developments in payments during his tenure and stressed the importance of freedom of choice: Cash is freedom in action [...] but freedom also means that we offer people the digital opportunities afforded by an interconnected world.

Mr Balz underscored the fact that progress in payments was only possible through cooperation. Payments are, and will remain, a network industry. New products and solutions will only be accepted if they are supported by all relevant market participants. Mr Balz bade farewell by appealing to the participants to maintain their dialogue and cooperation.