Another example is Apple, which is restricting which payment services can be offered on its mobile devices. In addition, plans are constantly being launched for new kinds of money and payment systems that offer both customer services and settlement, most recently Libra, a venture backed by Facebook and other investors. As an authority responsible for promoting an efficient payment system, Norges Bank needs to consider the whole payments chain. We also need to ask ourselves whether it is enough to be a promoter and regulator or whether we need to take on greater operational responsibility in order to perform our social mission. Second, changes are taking place in the ownership of critical parts of the payment system. A relevant example is Mastercard’s planned acquisition of one of the key parts of Nets. The Nordic P27 initiative is hardly the last push for more international ownership of infrastructure for payments in Norwegian kroner. At Norges Bank, we need to assess the best way for us to ensure that society’s interests are being safeguarded. Future structure of real-time payments Norway was an early adopter of digitalisation and its payments infrastructure has been worldclass. We have reaped the benefits for many years. But then the development of common infrastructure came to a halt. A number of neighbouring countries have built payment infrastructures that in some areas are now ahead of ours. Common infrastructure makes sense. It enables us to realise economies of scale, a wellfunctioning payment network and a level playing field.
We now have more effective foreclosure law, a credit bureau, and accounting standards such as IAS 39 that conform to international best practices. Moreover, under the Deposit Protection Agency Act which will replace the current blanket deposit guarantee in place since 1997, the establishment of the Deposit Protection Agency should reduce banks’ moral hazard and enhance market discipline. That is by putting pressure on banks to improve financial strengths if they want to attract and retain depositors. As part of Thailand’s efforts to advance reforms, the Bank of Thailand will, under the secondphased financial master plan, focus on improving efficiency and intermediary functions of the financial sector by reducing regulatory costs, enhancing legal and information infrastructure, and increasing the level of competition through further deregulation and liberalisation. Deregulation would potentially involve expanding business scope and enhancing the role of existing players, including banks, non-banks and other niche banks. One of the key factors for deciding the optimal number and type of new players would be the value added that new financial institutions, be they universal banks or niche banks, could bring to the financial system, such as technical expertise and product innovations. Having said this, I wish to emphasize that we will also closely look at the risks from potential concentration of market power and financial instability stemming from disorderly competition and exits. Last but not least is better governance to bring about better risk management.