But we shall probably have to adjust to the fact that the increasing growth and use of the internet is opening up new possibilities in the financial sector which are not without risk from the point of view of the central banks. The growing use of e-money in payments may, at times, lead to some problems of data interpretation.
As long as flows of e-money are dominated by domestic banks, however, this will not result in any lasting impairment of monetary policy, since we possess the instrument of - by all means, remunerable - minimum reserves. At all events, the existence of minimum reserves ensures that broader monetary aggregates remain closely related to the provision of central bank money.