In 2000, there were approximately 15 billion credit card transactions with a total value of approximately $ trillion. Large dollar, or wholesale, payments are processed electronically through either the Fed’s Fedwire system or the private sector’s Clearing House Interbank Payment System (CHIPS). Fedwire is available to depository institutions that have accounts with Federal Reserve Banks.
I am looking forward to his lecture based on his experience as an academic, policy maker, and old friend of the Bank of Japan. In the keynote speech, Professor Athanasios Orphanides of MIT, one of our honorary advisers, will share his views on the policy communication aspect of monetary policy strategy, in particular, issues relating to forward guidance.