Sibos 2021: Our futures are bound together in a digital money world

Sibos 2021 gathered many of the financial services sector’s leading thinkers and doers to discuss major and emerging issues facing the global community of finance and technology professionals.

Building uponlast year’s all-digital conference, Sibos 2021 hosted a series of virtual panels and presentations from Oct. 11 to 14 that explored this year’s theme: recharging global finance. A diverse group of finance and technology experts – including chief executives and influencers from around the world – contemplated how to reassess strategies and accelerate change after unprecedented disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, the ambitious program still provided a platform for addressing many of today’s most pressing issues and offering ideas for how the financial ecosystem can reemerge stronger than before. Here are one of the major takeaways from this year’s conference.

Our futures are bound together in a digital money world

Jane Fraser, the chief executive officer of Citi, called for the global financial community to confront the complexities the new world of digital money in two crucial ways: move with speed and act in partnership.

During her “View from the Top” session on Tuesday, day two of Sibos, she said it’s imperative that the financial sector doesn’t lose the ability to innovate with urgency as we emerge from the pandemic. She argued this is one reason the industry must transition to the ISO 20022 standards for payments data globally.

“I know that for some of us this transition isn’t going to be easy. It represents a huge investment of time and resources,” she said. “But in this digital world, SWIFT has to start delivering it at an even faster pace, or we’re going to risk becoming obsolete.”

Fraser said the financial community needs to keep the gates open to fintechs and big tech, in part because financial institutions need to engage with customers where they conduct business in an age of digital platforms.

“We are all in this together. Now there are many areas where we go head-to-head. This isn’t one of them,” she said. “Our collaboration and cooperation is precious, and we’re all equal partners here regardless of the size of our institution or the countries in which we operate.”

According to Fraser, the probable emergence of central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies as a regular method of payment highlight the importance for acting in partnership.

Rather than having individual banks develop their own cryptocurrencies, she suggested that the regulated sector work with central banks to develop innovative models for digital currencies. That would mean central banks, commercial banks, fintechs, big techs and crypto companies that embrace regulation working together.

“In this pivotal moment in the history of money, we need to lift our eyes up from the level of our individual firms to see that our future is bound with our community and in building the next generation of digital payment systems, there’s ample room for everyone’s contributions.”

Jane Fraser, CEO, Citi

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