Payment clearing and settlement systems

• September 12, 2025

  The evolution of how we pay for things

  

  New technologies new payments possibilities. Learn more about how these innovations can make purchases easier, but also introduce new risks.

  Content Type(s): Publications, The Economy, Plain and Simple Research Topic(s): Cyber security, Digital currencies and fintech, Digitalization, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Retail payments supervision

• 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 Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58

• Stress testing central counterparties for resolution planning

  Staff Analytical Note 2025-11 Katherine Brennan, Bo Young Chang, Alper Odabasioglu, Radoslav Raykov

  The Bank of Canada completed its first resolution plan for the Canadian Derivatives and Clearing Corporation (CDCC) in 2024. To estimate the resolution costs, we apply the extreme value theory method to simulate the credit losses that would result from extreme scenarios where multiple clearing members default at the same time.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Financial institutions, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): G, G1, G17, G2, G23, G28

• Privacy-Enhancing Technologies for CBDC Solutions

  Staff Discussion Paper 2025-1 Rakesh Arora, Han Du, Raza Ali Kazmi, Duc-Phong Le

  Privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) could offer solutions to safeguard end-user privacy and meet rigorous data protection standards for central bank digital currencies. We consider how PETs can transform privacy design in financial systems and the implications of their broader adoption.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, O, O3, O31

• The Role of Public Money in the Digital Age

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-11 Francisco Rivadeneyra, Scott Hendry, Alejandro García

  A well-functioning monetary system is characterized by public and private forms of money that exchange at par as value flows freely between them. A relevant retail public money—whether in the form of cash, a central bank digital currency or both—is a necessary component of such a monetary system.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E50, E58

• Analysis of DeFi Oracles

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-10 Xun Deng, Sidi Mohamed Beillahi, Cyrus Minwalla, Han Du, Andreas Veneris, Fan Long

  Oracles are constructs used in decentralized finance to price assets relative to each other. However, oracles contain defects that could lead to manipulation attacks. Such attacks exploit pricing models embedded within oracles to defraud creators and users. We automatically verify defects, which if mitigated, improves the security of digital currency.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E51, G, G1, G15, O, O3, O31
• May 30, 2024

  Future-proofing our payments systems

  Speech summary Ron Morrow Payments Canada SUMMIT Toronto, Ontario

  Executive Director of Payments, Supervision and Oversight Ron Morrow talks about how payments have evolved in Canada and why it’s important to modernize our payment infrastructure.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Retail payments supervision
• May 30, 2024

  Laying bare the evolution of payments in Canada

  Remarks Ron Morrow Payments Canada SUMMIT Toronto, Ontario

  Ron Morrow, Executive Director of Payments, Supervision and Oversight, talks about the evolution of payments in Canada, as well as the Bank’s new supervisory role for payment service providers.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Retail payments supervision

• Digital Payments in Firm Networks: Theory of Adoption and Quantum Algorithm

  Staff Working Paper 2024-17 Sofia Priazhkina, Samuel Palmer, Pablo Martín-Ramiro, Román Orús, Samuel Mugel, Vladimir Skavysh

  We build a network formation game of firms with trade flows to study the adoption and usage of a new digital currency as an alternative to correspondent banking.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Digitalization, Economic models, Financial institutions, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Sectoral balance sheet JEL Code(s): C, C6, C7, C71, D, D4, D8, D85, G, L, L2, L22

• Finding a Needle in a Haystack: A Machine Learning Framework for Anomaly Detection in Payment Systems

  Staff Working Paper 2024-15 Ajit Desai, Anneke Kosse, Jacob Sharples

  Our layered machine learning framework can enhance real-time transaction monitoring in high-value payment systems, which are a central piece of a country’s financial infrastructure. When tested on data from Canadian payment systems, it demonstrated potential for accurately identifying anomalous transactions. This framework could help improve cyber and operational resilience of payment systems.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial institutions, Financial services, Financial system regulation and policies, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C4, C45, C5, C55, D, D8, D83, E, E4, E42