4.11.2019  Digitalisation and investment in intangible capital: the Spanish case within the EU Banco de España-European Investment Bank Pablo Hernández de Cos Governor  Ladies and gentlemen, Let me start by welcoming you to Banco de España for the conference Digitalisation and Investment in Intangible Capital: The Spanish Case within the EU, jointly organised with the European Investment Bank. For the Banco de España it is a great pleasure to collaborate with the European Investment Bank in co-organising a conference for the second time. Before going any further with my intervention, I would like to thank all of you for your attendance here today. The topic of this conference is very timely and appropriate. Digitalisation is a key development that is increasingly affecting all the sectors of the economy with the ability to significantly transform the functioning of companies and markets and the structure of the economy more generally. However, the final impact of digitalisation on various dimensions is highly uncertain. Digitalisation Digitalisation refers to the adoption of digital technologies such as big data, cloud computing, E-commerce, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things and 3D printing. The impact of digitalisation on firms and the general economy comes through various factors. First, digitalisation reduces search, transportation and verification costs1. Second, it leads to increased automation of routine operations. Third, it enables new ways of organising production. Fourth, it may change the structure of the market, potentially affecting competitive pressures in some sectors.
The Foundation of Better Payments So while our research on a possible future CBDC will continue, we’re more excited by the opportunities to transform digital payments now. In particular, the combination of the Bank’s overhaul of RTGS and new technologies promises a world where payment systems can better meet societal demands for fully reliable, real-time, distributed peer-to-peer transactions. RTGS is already pretty awesome, settling over £ of payments in real time each day, while eliminating settlement risk and with an extremely high degree of resilience, all at a cost – to direct participants – of less than one ten millionth of the value of the average payment. But RTGS is also the same age as most of you and so we are renewing it. 30  What could this rather technical sounding development mean for you? More than you might think. 29  See Broadbent, B., (2016), “Central Banks and Digital Currencies”, a speech given at the LSE https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/speech/2016/central-banks-and-digital-currencies 30 See “A Blueprint for a new RTGS service for the United Kingdom”, May 2017. 13  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  13  Currently when you pay for your burger and beer in the pub, or your books in Blackwell’s, you probably use a debit card, a credit card or digital wallet on your phone. These need to be routed through the card provider’s network.