Bank of England building

Central banking: WBS academic David Skeie will bring his expertise on fintech and corporate finance to the Bank of England

David Skeie, Professor of Finance, has secured a place on the Bank of England’s newly created Payments Academic Advisory Group. 

Professor Skeie, of the School’s Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, will help the Bank analyse the opportunities and risks of the rapidly evolving payments industry.  

The advisory group will help shape the next generation of the UK’s retail payments infrastructure, as policymakers grapple with the possible introduction of a digital pound. 

Professor Skeie was also part of the Bank’s panel of experts tasked with researching the development a digital pound as part of the CBDC Academic Advisory Group. 

The Bank of England established the Payments Academic Advisory Group (PAAG) as part of its wider engagement programme under the National Payments Vision and the Retail Payments Infrastructure Board.  

The PAAG brings together a select group of academics and policy experts from disciplines including economics, law, behavioural science, technology, and innovation to provide evidence-based perspectives on the future of payments.  

Professor Skeie, who was a Senior Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a securities trader at hedge fund Citadel Investment Group, said: “It is a great honour to be part of the PAAG and to continue working with the Bank of England. 

“The rapid rise of AI and digital technologies is changing the way we interact with money and pay online, with the rise of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins also adding to a complex payment picture. 

“It is important for central banks to stay on top of these developments with interest and the volume of trades increasing. 

“At the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, we are involved in the cutting-edge research that is influencing and shaping the future payments landscape. It is an exciting area where new technologies are challenging many preconceptions about money.” 

While the digital pound remains under consideration, policymakers are increasingly focused on broader questions of resilience, competition, innovation, and inclusion across the payments’ ecosystem. 

The PAAG’s deliberations are expected to inform the Bank’s work programme on payments and emerging forms of money. 

Shaping Bank of England payments policy and innovation

The Gillmore Centre recently held the FinTech Futures Forum at WBS London at The Shard where the demand for AI skills was emphasised as the world moves into a new era of payments and financial services. 

Ram Gopal, Director of the Gillmore Centre for Financial Technology, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Professor Skeie. It is a strong endorsement of the Centre’s mission to shape the future of financial technology through rigorous research and meaningful policy engagement.  

“At the heart of our work is a commitment to understanding how innovation in money and payments affects consumers, firms, and society as a whole.  

“The Bank’s new forum is focused on many of the issues that define the future of finance, from payment innovation and digital currencies to trust, inclusion, and financial resilience, making it a natural fit with the Centre’s research agenda. 

“The Gillmore Centre explores how new technologies can empower consumers and improve financial literacy, how businesses can harness emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning to transform financial services, and how developments in fintech influence wider society, regulation and public trust.”

Further reading:

Regulatory transition could be 'impossible' for some stablecoins

WBS fintech centre receives £1.25 million to revolutionise AI and financial research

How fintech firms can avoid becoming a casualty of AI

Gillmore fintech conference: $250bn stablecoin market resists Fed policy 

 

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