OMFIF, the global central banking think tank, announces
the launch of the Digital Monetary Institute
The OMFIF Digital Monetary Institute (DMI) is a high-level group which convenes policy-makers, technologists, financiers and regulators to explore the challenges and opportunities of digital finance. The principal focus will be on payments instruments in wholesale and retail markets, with central bank digital currency being of particular interest. This builds on OMFIF research in the field, including a major survey on trust in monetary institutions which found that central banks were the most trusted institutions to issue digital currency.
In the wake of private sector challenges to fiat currency, and as governments and central banks consider helicopter money to alleviate the economic crisis, the CBDC agenda is now close to the top of the policy-maker in-tray. Cash is losing its relative convenience. CBDC may transform the extra-territorial weight of leading currencies and become a significant factor in geopolitics. Discussions on how CBDC, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies will potentially change society and financial services have been central to OMFIF’s recent research and off-the-record meetings.
“OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute is the intermediary between central banks and the market. As digital currencies become a reality, central banks need the DMI to engage in conversations on policy, technology and regulation with other market participants in a neutral environment.”
-Peter Wierts, De Nederlandsche Bank (July 2020)
'The “CBDC ecosystem” is improving rapidly, where DMI has a very unique role'
- Anikó Szombati, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (August 2020)
Meetings
Meetings are open to OMFIF Digital Monetary Institute Members and are subject to the OMFIF Rules.
Forthcoming meetings:
Analysis
Membership of the Digital Monetary Institute offers insight through analysis and meetings, drawn from the expertise of OMFIF’s in-house specialists and global network of public and private sector members. The Institute will publish regular data, update members on new developments and innovations and convene exclusive discussions in a variety of formats to help shape the digital finance agenda.
Digital Monetary Institute Journal
Download the latest edition of the OMFIF Digital Monetary Institute Journal here
Subscribe to receive the Digital Monetary Institute updates in your inbox, including information on upcoming meetings and the Journal
Past meetings:
Podcasts
The OMFIF Digital Monetary Institute releases regular podcasts, focusing on payments systems and digital currencies. The podcasts can be followed on iTunes and Spotify and listened to below.
Download similar OMFIF reports
Membership
Membership of the Digital Monetary Institute includes the following benefits:
Roundtables and webinars
OMFIF roundtables and webinars are private ‘off the-record’ gatherings attended by 15-20 market participants from the public and private sector; the principal speakers may be from a central bank or a regulatory agency and the discussion is free flowing.
OMFIF digital monetary roundtables and webinars are only open to members of the institute. They take place both virtually and in London or other financial centres around the world.
Seminars and networking events
Members of the Institute will be able to attend OMFIF seminars, which will be followed by networking events.
Larger than roundtables, 30-35 market participants will attend these events. The seminars will take the form of panel discussions and presentations.
OMFIF Digital Monetary Institute Analysis: Journal by email, market digest and annual guide
As a member of the Institute, you can receive a monthly ‘OMFIF Journal of Digital Finance’ which summarises the key developments and challenges in the world of digital currencies, and how the central banking, policy-making and regulatory community are engaging in the debate.
The monthly OMFIF Journal of Digital Finance will be supplemented by the OMFIF CBDC ‘project tracker’, where OMFIF’s in-house researchers update members on the latest CBDC project developments.
Institute members will feature in the annual OMFIF Guide to Digital Finance, produced by our in-house economists and researchers in November.
Podcasts
OMFIF hosts podcasts with a variety of individuals from the world of digital currencies.
Participation in a ‘two way’ conversation with a regulator, central bank, or other relevant personality to discuss a topic pertinent to the digital currency marketplace.
All podcasts are broadcast through the OMFIF website and distributed to the OMFIF community.
Central banks digital currencies symposium
The Institute’s inaugural CBDC symposium will take place in London on 8th of December 2020. OMFIF will bring the world’s leading central banks, regulators, policy-makers and market participants from the world of banking and technology together to discuss the trends and evolution of the new digital environment.
It will be a day-long event with a series of plenary panels and break-out sessions. Approximately 150 attendees
will be present, and the audience demographic will be carefully curated by OMFIF to ensure that key public sector, central bank and policy-making representatives are in attendance.
This will be the world’s pre-eminent gathering where the challenges and opportunities of CBDCs will be discussed with senior representatives of the G20 central banks.
Members of the OMFIF Digital Monetary Institute, will take a advantage of various benefits at the OMFIF CBDC symposium.
Team
Philip Middleton
Deputy Chairman at OMFIF
Philip became a non-executive Director at OMFIF on 1 January 2018, having been Deputy Chairman of the OMFIF Advisory Board for the previous four years. He is a Director of Rifle House Capital Ltd and a Commissioner at the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, the regulatory body for the finance sector in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. He was formerly a senior Partner and Head of Central Banking at professional services firm EY, where he specialised in strategy consulting and services to governments and other public institutions across Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa.
Bhavin Patel
Senior Economist & Head of Fintech Research at OMFIF
Bhavin’s specialist research interests include the economic structure and environment of the Middle East, financial market development in emerging markets, Islamic finance, and the digital economy including fintech and central bank digital currencies. Prior to joining OMFIF his research interests focused on issues around the choice of exchange rate regimes and models of currency and financial crises.
Katie-Ann Wilson
Programmes Manager, Emerging Markets at OMFIF
Katie-Ann is responsible for supporting the programming division in researching and organising meetings as well as maintaining relationships with central banks, public pension funds and sovereign funds. Prior to joining OMFIF, she worked at King’s College London, supporting the social science and public policy faculty on research submissions to higher education funding bodies. Before this, she worked as a grant writer for a non-governmental organisation in Israel.
Julia Demidova
Relationship Manager, Fintech and Private Markets at OMFIF
Julia started her career as a credit analyst at a Russian bank, where she was responsible for the management and assessment of credit risks and recommendations for more quality lending. Later, she joined a commodity trader. She completed a comprehensive analysis of oil prices and their effect on the market for mergers and acquisitions.
In 2013, Julia joined a single family office in London. Julia was responsible for marketing and analysis of funds and hedge funds, before moving to the investor relations department. Here she was responsible for fundraising and marketing for project finance, private equity and venture capital co-investments. Julia has developed a number of significant relationships with family offices, sovereign funds and international commercial and development banks in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Julia worked with entrepreneurs and founders to create and build businesses that aligned with the company’s philosophy and strategy.
