Second, net settlement systems have been abandoned in favour of real-time settlement, in which each transaction is recorded immediately and permanently, rather than transactions being netted, for example, at the end of the day. It now appears to be generally accepted that settlement systems, where the central bank provides settlement services, should be real-time systems. In light of this, in 1997 the Central Bank began in co-operation with financial institutions a review of domestic settlement systems with the view of bringing them into line with best international practice. The aim is to establish a real-time settlement system in 1999. The operation of a real-time settlement BIS Review 42/1998  -8-  system will be a precondition for participation in the European Central Bank’s TARGET settlement system should it become available. Financial System Stability Securing the sound operation of financial institutions is a task of steadily growing importance for the Central Bank. By law, the Central Bank is required to protect the monetary system and support sound money and securities transactions. Central banks pursue this task in a variety of ways. They carefully follow those macroeconomic developments, which impact money flows and thus the profitability of financial institutions. Securing payment and settlement systems is a central bank task across the world. Central banks are also lenders of last resort to financial institutions and need to be prepared to lend resources in excess of what would normally be required.
Besides, as Fintech was experiencing significant growth and was becoming a promising lever, the first measure to undertake was to introduce mobile payment, considering the high mobile phone penetration rate, which reaches 130 percent and allows coverage of almost the whole population. To  this  end,  we  have  developed,  together  with  the  National  Telecommunications Regulatory Agency, a national low-cost, secure, interoperable and real-time mobile payment solution. This offer is to be provided not only by banks and telecom operators, but also by payment institutions which formed an alternative network, and which we had begun to license based on strict specifications. 3  However, the adherence of retail merchants, necessary for a large-scale deployment of this solution, is still low, as that many of them still operate in the informal sector. Subsequently, we were prompted to collaborate with the Ministry of Finance in order to introduce tax incentives in the 2020 Finance Act. Today, we are rather optimistic. These incentives, combined with communication and awareness-raising efforts, will hopefully give a new impetus to this solution and contribute to a greater integration into the formal economy and to a reduced use of cash. Mobile payment has undoubtedly been one of the main levers of financial inclusion in Morocco, but certainly not the only one. We have also strived towards turning microfinance and micro insurance into channels of inclusion. To this end, the applicable amending legal texts have been finalized and are in the process of being approved.