Payments and financial market infrastructures are vital components of modern economies, yet they have often been overlooked by economists. However, any economic exchange, including financial market transactions, is matched by a payment leg, and the safety, efficiency, and immediacy of the payment, and the problem of linking the two legs of the transaction (“delivery-vs-payment”), remain universal challenges. The consequences of inefficiencies or interruptions in payment and settlement systems have immediate and significant impacts on the real economy. Moreover, payments and financial...

Payments and financial market infrastructures are vital components of modern economies, yet they have often been overlooked by economists. However, any economic exchange, including financial market transactions, is matched by a payment leg, and the safety, efficiency, and immediacy of the payment, and the problem of linking the two legs of the transaction (“delivery-vs-payment”), remain universal challenges. The consequences of inefficiencies or interruptions in payment and settlement systems have immediate and significant impacts on the real economy. Moreover, payments and financial...