Telegraph to Tether: Challenges in the Global Payments System and the Struggle between Private and Public Interests

Catherine Schenk

A chapter in Fault Lines After COVID-19, 2023, pp 279-302 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Cross-border payments systems are fundamental to the smooth operation of the global economy, but they have attracted relatively little public or academic interest. To support trade and commerce, the system needs to be fast, efficient, inclusive and transparent but these characteristics are challenged by long transaction chains, fragmentation and complexity, legacy technology and high compliance costs. The geopolitical importance was highlighted by the exclusion of Russia from Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) in 2022. This chapter examines the changing technology and the origins of two key institutions (SWIFT and Clearing House Interbank Payments System in New York, or CHIPS) with special focus on the private ownership of this public good. It draws on new archive evidence from central banks, commercial banks and multilateral institutions to offer fresh insights into how the global payments system has evolved.

Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-031-26482-5_17

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-26482-5_17

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