Canadian Bank Notes and Dominion Notes: Lessons for Digital Currencies Staff working paper 2017-5 Ben Fung, Scott Hendry, Warren E. Weber This paper studies the period in Canada when both private bank notes and government-issued notes (Dominion notes) were simultaneously in circulation. Because both of these notes shared many of the characteristics of today's digital currencies, the experience with these notes can be used to draw lessons about how digital currencies might perform. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E58 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Cash and bank notes, Digital assets and fintech
Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Framework for Assessing Why and How Staff discussion paper 2016-22 Ben Fung, Hanna Halaburda Digital currencies have attracted strong interest in recent years and have the potential to become widely adopted for use in making payments. Public authorities and central banks around the world are closely monitoring developments in digital currencies and studying their implications for the economy, the financial system and central banks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments
Using Speed and Credit Limits to Address the Procyclicality of Initial Margin at Central Counterparties Staff discussion paper 2016-18 Nikil Chande, Nicholas Labelle This paper proposes a practical approach to address the procyclicality of initial margin at central counterparties (CCPs) that can work even in periods of extreme stress. The approach allows CCPs to limit the speed of margin increases resulting from spikes in market volatility. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): G, G1, G18 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
On the Value of Virtual Currencies Staff working paper 2016-42 Wilko Bolt, Maarten van Oordt This paper develops an economic framework to analyze the exchange rate of virtual currency. Three components are important: first, the current use of virtual currency to make payments; second, the decision of forward-looking investors to buy virtual currency (thereby effectively regulating its supply); and third, the elements that jointly drive future consumer adoption and merchant acceptance of virtual currency. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E51, F, F3, F31, G, G1 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Credit Risk and Collateral Demand in a Retail Payment System Staff discussion paper 2016-16 Héctor Pérez Saiz, Gabriel Xerri The recent financial crisis has led to the development of new regulations to control risk in designated payment systems, and the implementation of new credit risk management standards is one of the key issues. In this paper, we study various credit risk management schemes for the Canadian retail payment system (ACSS) that are designed to cover the exposure of a defaulting member. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, G, G2, G21, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments
Clearing and Settlement Systems from Around the World: A Qualitative Analysis Staff discussion paper 2016-14 Michael Tompkins, Ariel Olivares As Canada continues to engage in a dialogue to develop the approach to modernizing its core payment systems, we analyze the core payment systems that exist in countries around the world. We study payment systems in 27 jurisdictions, encompassing a broad range of geographic regions, through three levels of analysis. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, L, L1, L14, L15, L5, L52 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
A Bitcoin Standard: Lessons from the Gold Standard Staff working paper 2016-14 Warren E. Weber This paper imagines a world in which countries are on the Bitcoin standard, a monetary system in which all media of exchange are Bitcoin or are backed by it. The paper explores the similarities and differences between the Bitcoin standard and the gold standard and describes the media of exchange that would exist under the Bitcoin standard. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E41, E42, E5, E58 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, International markets and currencies, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech
Measuring Systemic Risk Across Financial Market Infrastructures Staff working paper 2016-10 Fuchun Li, Héctor Pérez Saiz We measure systemic risk in the network of financial market infrastructures (FMIs) as the probability that two or more FMIs have a large credit risk exposure to the same FMI participant. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): C, C5, C58, G, G2, G21, G23 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Models and tools, Econometric, statistical and computational methods, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
A Framework in Search of an Optimal Margining Policy for Official Institutions: The Canadian Experience Staff discussion paper 2016-9 Tomo Nakashima, Mihai Cosma, Boran Plong One of the main outcomes of the global financial crisis has been a series of new regulations imposed on the financial system and specifically on banks. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): G, G3, G32 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Financial system, Financial stability and systemic risk, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Wait a Minute: The Efficacy of Discounting versus Non-Pecuniary Payment Steering Staff working paper 2016-8 Angelika Welte Merchants who accept credit cards face payment processing fees. In most countries, the no-surcharge rule prohibits them from using surcharges to pass these fees on to customers. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, E, E5, E58, G, G2, G28 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market structure, Money and payments, Retail payments