Page 7  Towards an international effort – central banks, industry and public authorities rowing in unison In a highly connected and networked industry such as payments, we can only make a real difference if we work together in a coordinated way. We need to row together in unison to reach our destination of faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive cross-border payment services. So what are the concrete actions that each of the groups – central banks, industry and public authorities - need to take? The role of central banks Central banks, both as operators and supervisors, of payment infrastructure, we have a key role to play. We build infrastructure, add new functionality and set standards and policies to underpin safe and efficient economic and social activity. Central banks need to start changing policies and enhancing core payment systems in line with the best practices, assessments and analysis that are developed as part of the work on the 19 building blocks. To do so effectively, we need to listen to and collaborate with industry, involving them in outreach and consultations and updating them on latest developments. And we also need to share our learnings and experiences with our peers, and beyond. This could be done through the establishment of communities of practice, through which central banks can discuss challenges and barriers with peers and find ways to overcome them. The role of industry The payments industry is another key, and wide range group including correspondent banks, FMIs and the non-bank FinTech.
The prices of other goods and services, on the other hand, have been posting quite modest growth rates. Therefore, the inflation expectations of entrepreneurs and consumers have remained close to the historical average. If the price hike of commodities stops, the increase in the euro area’s prices could remain below 2% already next year. However, looking at the data from another angle, we can find proof to arguments which insist that the current euro-area interest rate level is not suitable for guaranteeing the low inflation rate that corresponds to the price stability goal. Although the general public focuses on the debt crisis of certain European countries, the developments of the economy itself have, on the whole, exceeded expectations. Economic growth has remained above average and the utilisation of production capacity no longer resembles a crisis situation. Though unemployment is still high, it is decreasing and the indicators of the industrial and service sectors are posting quite high results from the historical perspective. If we add here the fact that global price rise pressures have been annoyingly enduring and do not show any signs of abatement, the risk of a persistently higher inflation rate in the euro area has increased. Therefore, at the press conference after the most recent meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank it was pointed out that, to withstand this threat, the Eurosystem might increase the price of money in the markets earlier than expected, maybe already in April.