Modern payment systems transfer staggering sums: more than 120 times annual GNP in some OECD countries. Over the past decade, politicians as well as central bankers have woken up to the critical role which payment systems play in contemporary economies, and the havoc which payment systems failure causes. Banks and other financial institutions are also now more aware of the need to manage payment risks, and manage their liquidity professionally. There is a critical need to strengthen payments architecture. Much work is already underway. However, payment systems reform has wide-ranging implications for monetary policy, market regulation, the financial sector and the role of the central bank. Governments and central banks need to understand the full legal and regulatory implications, such as the competition issues which are involved. Financial institutions need to make strategic decisions about uncertain technological developments. Increasingly, the leaders of market and official-sector institutions appreciate that payments systems issues can not simply be left to technical specialists. They must be grasped and understood at the very top of the organization. Not easy, when most literature addresses the technical, rather than the policy implications of change. Emoney and Payment Systems Review, published by Central Banking Publications, fills this gap. As you would expect, this new guide is informed by the latest technical developments and risk management techniques in the discipline. However, the expert contributors to Emoney and Payment System Review focus above all on the policy issues involved. In particular, the Review examines the role of central banks in the payment system and the key role which central banks must play in any reform programme. Critical, because in all countries, it is the central bank which provides final settlement in reserve money, and - now more than ever - it is the central bank which oversees other systems operating in a country. The core question is this: how to reengineer a payment system? In practice, not just in theory. At the core of this perspective is a brand new survey of central bank heads of payment systems which documents the real concerns and plans of central banks over the next five years