Technological change is disrupting the landscape of financial services, with new entrants, new business models, a race by incumbents to invest in developing the necessary capabilities, and in many cases the potential for a fundamental disruption in the value chain of traditional financial services firms and sectors.
This has impacted different sectors such as the retail banking sector, payment and e-money firms as well as new emerging areas such as crypto. The ECB’s own ‘Digital Euro’ project is a recognition of this changing landscape, and what it might mean for money, for central banks themselves and for citizens.24 At the same time the mandates of central banks have increased significantly.