Fintech and bigtech companies are responding to widespread customer demand for ever faster and more convenient payment solutions. These companies have developed innovative solutions using technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-speed data processing. In a fast-moving world, the ability to analyse data in real time is of paramount importance. This has led to a data revolution in the financial industry, which is also reflected in payment services. The second challenge is to enable interoperability between old and new technologies, such as distributed ledger technology – DLT for short. DLT makes it possible to represent and manage assets such as money and securities on a shared system of ledgers. In principle at least, this means that traditional financial institutions are no longer required for making payments. It is too early to speculate where all this is going. What is clear, however, is that innovation should ideally thrive in a way that does not jeopardise the security and efficiency of 4  The SIC system is operated by SIX Interbank Clearing Ltd on behalf of the SNB. Page 4/11  payments. This requires a common vision for the Swiss financial centre – a Swiss Payments Vision. To make this vision a reality, we must find ways to enable cashless value transfers directly from the payer to the recipient in a fast and secure way and to seamlessly integrate new payment instruments, forms of money and technologies. We need to improve the speed and interoperability of payments while upholding our three principles.
With kuna banknotes bearing my signature and the stability of the kuna having been the focus of most of my professional career, I probably have the most reason to regret its passing into history. However, we have introduced the euro for the benefit of Croatia and I have never had any doubt about this being the right way. Not only did Croatia become the twentieth member of the euro area with the  1/2  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  introduction of the euro, but it also entered into partnership with the countries using the second major currency in the world. Looking forward, the introduction of the euro has opened a new chapter of our monetary history for us at the central bank. On 1 January 2023, the Croatian National Bank became part of the Eurosystem and thus an active participant in defining a common monetary policy. Furthermore, our voice in the ECB's Governing Council has a greater weight relative to the size of our country, and for the first time in history we are in a position to influence the financing conditions in the euro area and, consequently, in Croatia. Those opposing the euro might claim that Croatia loses its monetary independence by joining the monetary union, but the truth is in fact the opposite: Croatia has gained more power.