Public vs. Private Payment Platforms: Market Impacts and Optimal Policy Staff working paper 2026-10 Youming Liu, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Edona Reshidi We study the competition between a welfare-maximizing public payment platform (e.g., CBDC or fast payment system) and a profit-maximizing private platform in a two-sided market, deriving optimal public pricing and showing how network effects, fragmentation, and policy mandates like zero fees or cost recovery shape welfare, usage, and fee incidence. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): D, D4, E, E4, E42, E5, E58 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Retail payments
The Usage of Security Lending Facilities under Unconventional Monetary Policy: Evidence from Sweden Staff working paper 2026-9 Marianna Blix Grimaldi, Fabienne Schneider, David Vestin This paper examines the interaction between quantitative easing (QE) and the securities lending facility (SLF) using a detailed dataset on Riksbank QE purchases, Swedish DMO SLF transactions and OTC repo deals. A theoretical model further shows how excess demand for assets and search frictions shift the SLF from a backstop to a first-resort tool. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E52, E58, G, G2, G21 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Market functioning, Market structure, Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Project Samara Research Paper Staff analytical paper 2026-8 Rakesh Arora, Umar Faruqui, Scott Hendry, Dinesh Shah, André Usche Project Samara was a real‑world experiment testing distributed ledger technology and wholesale central bank digital money for bond issuance and settlement in Canada. It demonstrated technical feasibility and potential efficiency and risk‑reduction benefits, while highlighting important trade‑offs related to complexity, governance, and regulatory alignment. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G28, O, O3, O33 Research Theme(s): Financial markets and funds management, Funds management, Market structure, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures
AI Paradox: Promise vs. Reality—What It Means for Monetary Policy Staff analytical paper 2026-4 Joshua Brault, Maryam Haghighi, Jing Yang This note reviews the emerging evidence on AI’s labour-market and productivity effects, highlighting early task-level impacts, sizable micro level productivity gains, and the macroeconomic challenges these pose for monetary policy during the transition. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): E, E2, E24, E3, E31, E5, E50, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Inflation dynamics and pressures, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Extraordinary Forward Guidance in Canada During the Pandemic Staff analytical paper 2026-1 Christopher S. Sutherland We consider two trade-offs inherent to extraordinary forward guidance (EFG): potency versus flexibility, and the credibility of forward guidance versus the credibility of inflation targeting. We argue that the form of EFG used by the Bank of Canada during the COVID‑19 pandemic balanced both trade-offs relatively well. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical paper JEL Code(s): D, D3, D8, D83, D84, E, E3, E37, E5, E52, E58 Research Theme(s): Monetary policy, Monetary policy tools and implementation
Estimating the Costs of Electronic Retail Payment Networks: A Cross-Country Meta Analysis Staff discussion paper 2025-17 Cam Donohoe, Youming Liu We explore how many electronic funds transfer (EFT) systems can viably coexist within a jurisdiction at efficient scale by estimating the cost curve of the average EFT. We estimate the marginal cost to be approximately $0.55 per transaction, and the fixed cost to be approximately $83 million per year. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E58, H, H5, H54 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Financial system regulation and oversight, Money and payments, Retail payments
AI Agents for Cash Management in Payment Systems Staff working paper 2025-35 Iñaki Aldasoro, Ajit Desai Can artificial intelligence (AI) think and act like a cash manager? In this paper we explore how generative AI agents can help manage liquidity, prioritize payments and optimize efficiency in real-time gross settlement systems. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): A, A1, A12, C, C7, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E42, E5, E58 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial system regulation and oversight, Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures, Structural challenges, Digitalization and productivity
Net Send Limits in the Lynx Payment System: Usage and Implications Staff discussion paper 2025-13 Virgilio B Pasin, Anna Wyllie We study how participants in the Lynx payment system use the net send limit (NSL) tool to control their intraday payment outflow levels. Our results show that participants typically adopt a “set it and forget it” approach to scheduling NSLs and sometimes have distinct intraday NSL adjustment behaviours. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers JEL Code(s): C, C1, C10, D, D8, D82, E, E4, E42, E5, E58, G, G2, G21, G4, G41 Research Theme(s): Financial system, Financial institutions and intermediation, Money and payments, Payment and financial market infrastructures
On the Programmability and Uniformity of Digital Currencies Staff working paper 2025-18 Jonathan Chiu, Cyril Monnet Central bankers argue that programmable digital currencies may compromise the uniformity of money. We develop a stylized model to examine this argument and the trade-offs involved in circulating programmable money. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58 Research Theme(s): Money and payments, Digital assets and fintech, Payment and financial market infrastructures
Assessing the US and Canadian neutral rates: 2025 update Staff analytical note 2025-16 Frida Adjalala, Felipe Alves, William Beaudoin, Hélène Desgagnés, Wei Dong, Ingomar Krohn, Jan David Schneider We assess both the US and Canadian nominal neutral rates to be in the range of 2.25% to 3.25%, unchanged from the range assessed in 2024. Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes JEL Code(s): E, E4, E40, E43, E5, E50, E52, E58, F, F4, F41 Research Theme(s): Models and tools, Economic models, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework and transmission, Real economy and forecasting, Structural challenges, Demographics and labour supply