Innovative technology is paving the way for new and improved financial services, while competition among financial service providers is intensifying. In a digital world, location and national borders become less important. The banking system in Norway is at the forefront of technology. Cash usage is low, and almost four in five person-to-person payments are made using Vipps mobile payment services. Norway ranks at the top in Europe in terms of use of internet banking, and robots are performing tasks such as customer contact and processing of loan applications.3 The largest Norwegian banks have the lowest cost-to-income ratios in the EEA.4 Payment services costs are also low in Norway compared with other countries. Even though Norwegian banks are well positioned to meet growing competition, they are not sheltered, nor should they be. Increased competition for financial services is an intended development. Combined with digitalisation, this engenders better and cheaper banking services for customers, giving more people access to financial services. But new technology and increased competition can also disrupt the very key role banks play in the financial system. The changes we are observing raise big questions: Are we headed towards a monetary system that is fundamentally different from the one we have today? Will tech giants and cryptocurrrencies outcompete banks and national currencies in a few years?
In this context, I am proud that the Bank of Albania has always been and remains frontrunner of change. 3. Bank of Albania, an evolving institution Throughout the transition history, The Bank of Albania has shown able to change and embrace better contemporary and most effective practices. The nature and functions of the institution were fundamentally transformed in 1992, when the Albanian economy started the transition process towards a free market economy. Within a short period of time and in the presence of a shortage of an institutional heritage, the Bank of Albania succeeded to establish the contours of an independent monetary policy, being empowered in the presence of a free-floating exchange rate, regulate and supervise a private banking sector that functions based on the market principles. The qualitative transformation of the Bank of Albania towards a modern central bank evolved further with the approval of the new Law on the Bank of Albania in 1997, which lays down the primary objective “to achieve and maintain price stability”. This Law sets out the decision-making, financial and operational independence of the central bank in the pursuit of its objectives, in line with the best international practices. In addition, it is encouraging that this institutional independence enjoys a broad social consensus. During these years of transition, our monetary policy has marked a notable progress towards: developing a theoretical framework; building up the completion of our knowledge with empirical studies; perfecting the instruments for its implementation; and the transparent communication with the public.