Annual Financial Lunch of the French Chamber of Great Britain London, 23 November 2017  Speech by François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France  “Europe, France and the United Kingdom: facing our common economic challenges”  Press contact: Clémence Choutet (+ 33 1 42 97 74 51; clemence.choutet@banque-france.fr). Page 1 sur 5  Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a pleasure to be in London today and I wish to thank you for inviting me to speak at your Annual Financial Lunch. The destiny of France and the United Kingdom has indeed been linked for a very long time; the existence of the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, which was established 143 years ago, is a good illustration of these firm and lasting ties. In this regard, I would like to express our full solidarity for the series of terrorist attacks that hit London recently. King Georges VI declared in 1940, and his words still apply to this day, that: “It is not the walls that make the city, but the people who live within them. The walls of London may be battered, but the spirit of the Londoner stands resolute and undismayed.” I believe that the spirit of resilience that is so characteristic of Londoners is what we need the most in times of crisis. We are and will always remain close friends and partners, even if we will no longer – unfortunately – be in the same European Club when Brexit is completed.
An area in which the quantum leap forward can be made, particularly by emerging economies, that will substantially increase the level of efficiency and thus reduce costs, is through the adoption of a more expedient and efficient means of payment. This will be the subject of my remarks today. While the Central Bank supplies currency notes and coins, we are also concerned with payments in its broader context. An important function and responsibility of the Central Bank is to promote the development of safe and efficient payment systems. Any inability to make payments in an economy would have a far reaching and widespread impact on society. Our task is therefore to ensure that the public and businesses can make payments in a safe and efficient manner. The task also involves taking advantage of the technology and innovation wave and to move towards more efficient payment modes. The economic benefits from this can be immense. Studies have shown that shifting from paper based to a more electronic based payment systems can generate an annual savings up to 1% of GDP. Further research has also shown that it becomes a catalyst that promotes increased consumption spending. Moreover, it can also enhance financial inclusion by extending financial services to the unbanked communities. In so doing, such communities would be brought into the formal financial system and into the economic mainstream.