Over the last two years, we’ve observed how digital assets have revolutionized payment and banking services. The explosion of interest in digital currencies brings with it new challenges in governance, privacy, competition, cybersecurity, and social inclusion. While a cashless future is still far away, more than 80% of central banks are either considering the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or have already done so.

2023 might be a really important year for real-time payments (RTP) development in North America. FedNow, a real-time payments service, is on track to go operational in 2023 in the USA, while the Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment system will be fully launched in Canada, also in 2023. Currently, in their test phases, these payment systems will go mainstream next year, making faster payments more accessible to smaller financial institutions and businesses.

When the American heist comedy Ocean’s Eleven was released on Friday, December 7, 2001, it topped the box-office draw for that weekend. The story follows two friends who plan to steal $160 million from three major casinos in Las Vegas. Entertainment Weekly called it “the most winning robbery sequence of the decade”.