They rely on huge amounts of data and their experience of how to deal with them; by taking advantage of network effects, they are starting to attack strategic links in this value chain (services with high technological added value and sometimes customer relations) in order to be able to offer new profit generating activities. Thanks to their dominance of certain sectors – let us take the example of cloud computing – and to their ability to expand – their cash reserves enable them to penetrate a market, to dominate it and to use technology to set up barriers to entry – these new entrants are giving rise to a significant risk of dependency, or even captivity, for established financial players. While  BigTechs today are, at least in Europe, subcontractors of banks and insurance companies, we cannot rule out a reversal of business models which would confine financial institutions to the role of specialised service providers: credit origination, middle and back office, compliance. These prospects raise several questions in terms of European sovereignty: how can we effectively protect citizens’ data (be they payment or personal data) and offer them real control over their use? How, in a global ecosystem with ever more open architectures, can we increase the strength and resilience of the financial system in the face of cyber risks? How can we encourage the development of pan-European payment solutions in the face of rising competition from non-European players in the payment solutions segment?
Following the launch of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy in 2017, new informal financial service providers have emerged, such as, village banks and savings groups in both the rural and urban areas. As both formal and informal financial service providers are agents of financial inclusion it is important for us, the regulators, to seek effective ways of linking the two types of players with a view to reducing informality as we expand financial inclusion. Distinguished Guests, in recognition of the importance of formal financial inclusion in supporting economic growth, the Bank of Zambia is collaborating with SaveNet, to 1  KEYNOTE SPEECH BY DR DENNY KALYALYA, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ZAMBIA AT THE 2019 WORLD SAVINGS DAY EVENT ON 31ST OCTOBER 2019 AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL, LUSAKA  develop channels to link informal savings groups to formal financial services providers. According to SaveNet data, at the end of 2018 there were 15,700 savings groups in Zambia, with cumulative savings amounting to K53.1 million. This points to a good opportunity for the formal financial service providers to mobilise deposits. In this regard, it has been observed that a number of regulated financial service providers and mobile money operators have already started designing products aimed at tapping into this market. It is hoped that this move will expedite the transition of informal groupings into the formal financial sector and enable more people gain access to a wider range of quality and affordable financial services.