And with damage to 2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  power and telecommunications systems, access to cash is a key concern. Only two hours after the February earthquake the Reserve Bank started receiving orders from banks for more cash for delivery to Christchurch.
And alone this is sufficient reason why central banks should take an interest in payment systems. But what I want to do in the next few minutes is focus on the importance of payment systems for achieving financial stability, rather than efficiency. This aspect of payment systems is perhaps less widely understood.