As part of its 2024 strategic plan:
Central Bank to unveil new $100 noteby
GEISHA KOWLESSAR-ALONZO
12 hours ago
20240403
Five years after the polymer $100 banknote was launched, the Central Bank is planning to introduce the 2024 series of the note in December.
Additionally, the specific plans for improving private sector pension regulations are expected to be operationalised.
These are among the main priorities of the Central Bank in 2024, which would focus on cybersecurity; efficiency in a modernised payments system; wider adoption of fintech solutions; and improving private sector pension supervision as outlined in its latest strategic plan.
The Central Bank said the plan will guide the implementation of the work for this year and will also focus on consolidating the gains in projects that have been completed.
The Bank explained that streamlining work processes, more inter-department teamwork and deepening external relationships are the main aspects of the consolidation effort.
In December 2019, the $100 banknote was issued, the first in the current suite (or family) of polymer banknotes.
The bank said the experience to date has demonstrated the durability of the polymer, compared to the cotton-based notes.
As it plans to introduce the 2024 series of the $100 banknote, the bank explained this note will be very similar to the current note (2019 series) while adding new security features.
More generally on financial instruments, a Joint Select Committee (JSC) of Parliament has been convened to examine the topic “anti-fraud and customer protection systems in the financial services sector of T&T.”
Report Ad
The bank is expected to contribute to these discussions by appearing before the JSC and strengthening its partnership with financial institutions, other regulators, and law enforcement agencies.
This will be complemented by targeted public education to help people avoid becoming soft targets for fraudsters and cyber criminals, the bank said.
As part of its other objectives, the Central Bank said there are specific plans for improving private sector pension regulations which are expected to be operationalised.
It explained that bureaucratic hurdles continue to hamper the smooth operations of the private sector pension industry in T&T.
While the bank has held several discussions with the Board of Inland Revenue, the progress on this area has been slower than expected to date, the Central Bank admitted.
Over the next six months, specific short term steps, which can be taken to improve private pension supervision will be identified and actioned, the bank said as it explained that during this period, the medium and long-term plans for modernisation will also be drawn up.
The Bank is also expected to complete its analysis and recommendations on the most efficient payments system for T&T.
“Work has been in train for some time on improving the framework for the domestic payments system, including a preliminary draft of new payments legislation, in collaboration with legal experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“At the Caricom level, several central banks are participating in a pilot to advance regional payments processes. Our Central Bank is continuing to evaluate the most appropriate option for our circumstances,” the strategic plan said.
Most notably, it added, consideration is being given to introducing a “fast payments’ framework,” which would allow for settlements to take place in a few seconds as opposed to several hours or days under the current regime.
The bank is liaising with the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on a project that the two institutions have initiated in this area for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Over the next few months, work geared towards T&T achieving the standards for the Global Forum will intensify and the Central Bank will be a part of this effort.
As it relates to cybersecurity, the Bank stated that this approach will build on the external collaboration to date, while it gains practical experience with conducting cybersecurity supervision.
“The Bank will carefully review the outcomes and recommendations of the latest IMF cybersecurity technical assistance (TA) and BIS cyber-range exercise.
“One important benefit involves the closer interaction with international agencies and other central banks in identifying threats, reporting on incidents and devising appropriate solutions,” the Central Bank said.
It said from April 2024, the first reports from licensed financial institutions attesting to their cybersecurity frameworks are expected.
It added that evaluation of these reports will provide the first experience for the Financial Institutions Supervision Department (FISD) in cyber supervision after the Cybersecurity Best Practices Guideline—which seeks to provide companies with guiding principles that are consistent with international best practices, for establishing adequate cybersecurity frameworks to ensure cyber resilience—was issued by the bank last year.
The Central Bank said this objective will require the involvement of its IT staff and is a good avenue for advancing suptech—the use of new technology in conducting financial sector supervision.
The FISD is responsible for the supervision of licensed financial institutions and registered insurance companies and pension plans in accordance with the Financial Institutions Act, 1993 (FIA) and the Insurance Act, 1980 respectively.
Another pillar of its plan is the consolidation of work processes on several fronts that will take place as bank-wide adoption of a comprehensive document management system will form the core of this effort, the Central Bank said.
This system, it said, establishes standards for classifying, treating and preserving documents according to their confidentiality.
Similarly, the bank noted the implementation of the project to automate statistics will help solidify the empirical basis of the bank’s work while reducing manual processing.
It outlined that the human resources department has already commenced work to reprioritise its activities as appropriate, given developments in technology and staff needs in the wake of the pandemic, stating that particular attention will be paid on strengthening staff training and career development.
The Central Bank added that it is “laying great emphasis” on the contributions of the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (OFSO) and National Financial Literacy Programme (NFLP) as mechanisms for redress and financial education.
The opportunity will be taken to further boost the reach of the OFSO and NFLP in the context of the comprehensive redesign of the Central Bank’s website scheduled over the next few months.
The bank also outlined some of its recent key achievements, noting that collaboration with the IMF and the BIS is helping to boost cybersecurity in domestic financial institutions.
On the fintech front, another major telecommunications company was registered to offer e-money.
In October 2023, Digicel Ltd was granted a six-month provisional registration to provide e-money products locally.
This followed the full registration of three other companies (PayWise Ltd, Pesh Ltd and the Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT)) earlier that year.
The e-money issuer order was also adjusted in December 2023 to expand the wallet sizes offered to customers.
The Central Bank continued to liaise closely with fintech companies and the T&T International Financial Centre to create a dynamic and safe environment for fintech activity.
https://guardian.co.tt/business/central ... a5eedfa67c
.
