Established in 2019 to support exploratory work into new frontiers in financial technology, BIS Innovation Hub Centres are already in place in Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland.

The Hub’s work programme is currently focused on six areas: use of technological innovation in supervision and regulation; next generation financial market infrastructures; central bank digital currencies; open finance; cyber security; and green finance.

Welcoming the London opening, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, says: “The UK is known for pushing the boundaries of digital finance so it’s great to have the new Innovation Hub opening here. Its work will help central banks to support safe innovation, and boost our efforts to capture the extraordinary potential of technology.”

The Innovation Hubs are currently at the forefront of a push by global regulators to explore the opportunites for launching central bank backed digital currencies. Speaking at the launch of the London Hub, BofE governor Andrew Bailey said he was encouraged by the body of work emerging from central banks on this front and shared through the Hub locations.

"If this comes to pass, it will be one of the most fundamental innovations in the history of central banking. It will move us into a new era," Bailey said.

The opening of the fourth Hub in London marks the commencement of an effort to expand the programme's global reach, with new centres earmarked for Canada, Frankfurt and Paris, and in Stockholm. An MoU with the Federal Reserve for the establishment of a Hub location in New York was signed in January.