Adrian Orr: The future of money demands innovation

Speech by Mr Adrian Orr, Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, to the Angel Association New Zealand Summit, Wellington, 8 February 2022.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Central bank speech  | 
18 February 2022

I would like to acknowledge with thanks principal author Jean-Christopher Somers, the wider Money and Cash policy team and department, and other reviewers and contributers from Te Pūtea Matua.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa-

Today I am here to talk about the future of money, particularly the need and opportunities for innovation in the ways in which Kiwis pay and save.

Money underpins everything we do in an economy. And supporting public trust and confidence in money – both central bank money and private forms of money created by financial institutions – is core to our role as a central bank. It is key to our economic and financial stability objectives and – by extension – to Aotearoa's prosperity and wellbeing.

At the Reserve Bank we use the legend of Tāne Māhuta to tell the story of our role. Te toto, the sap of Tāne Māhuta, represents money, cash and foreign reserves. It is the lifeblood of Tāne Māhuta and supporting the health of te toto is critical to our role as Kaitiaki of New Zealand's financial system, and in supporting a thriving economy and inclusive society.