Massimo Cirasino, an Italian national and an economist, joined the World Bank in July 1998 and is the Head of the Payment System Development Group (PSDG) at World Bank, in Washington, D.C. The PSDG helps develop sound and efficient Payment, Remittance, and Securities Settlement Systems, to strengthen financial stability and support access to finance. The PSDG is at the center of an international network, whose main objective is supporting countries - over 120 countries in 14 years - to reform Payments, Remittances, and Securities Settlement Systems: .
He has also participated as speaker in a number of conferences and seminars. Massimo has published several papers on payments and securities settlement system, among which a path-breaking article on payment system oversight. Massimo is an officer of the central bank of Italy (Banca d'Italia), which he joined in 1993. From 1993 to 1996, he worked in the Payment System Department and from 1996 until the time he joined the World Bank, he served Banca d'Italia in its Representative Office in New York. Prior to joining the Banca d'Italia, Massimo worked in Brazil as a journalist and a researcher in monetary economics and has traveled extensively throughout Latin America. Besides Italian, Massimo speaks fluently English, Portuguese and Spanish and has some knowledge of French. Massimo carries degrees in Economics and Business and Political Sciences respectively from the Luiss University (Rome) and the La Sapienza University (Rome). He also got a Master's degree in Banking from the La Sapienza University (Rome) and a Master of Philosophy's in Economics from New York University.
