The Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI) said the review would "look into the security of wholesale payments that involve banks, financial market infrastructures and other financial institutions".
The security of payments systems and infrastructure has been the subject of significant attention in recent months as global financial network SWIFT has issued several warnings about the use of malicious software by hackers. SWIFT said recently that money had been stolen from some banks that participate in its payments network.
"Recent incidents of cyber fraud are of significant concern for the central banking community, and we are working to make sure there are adequate checks and balances in place at each stage of the payments process," said CPMI chairman Benoît Cœuré. "The first phase of this work is seeking to review current practices in this area and, based on this input, the CPMI will decide how to proceed. It is premature to speculate what will result from this work."
The CPMI, together with the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), published guidance on cyber resilience for financial market infrastructures in June.