Central banks need to be experimenting with, and investing in, emerging technologies, according to Petra Hielkema, director of payments and market infrastructures at De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank. This will help them keep abreast of market developments in the current fast-changing environment, as well as understand how new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, can be deployed safely. Embracing innovation is a key pillar in the DNB's Payments Strategy 2018-21.
DNB, for example, has developed and evaluated four prototypes based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) over the past three years. “We started with baby steps, understanding the Bitcoin software and mining in a centralised versus decentralised way. Then we built prototypes and tested whether DLT networks could benefit parts of our market infrastructure while still providing the functionality needed in payments,” says Ms Hielkema.
