Starting from the historically first types of monetary systems, based on metal money, to the dissemination of fully fiduciary money, certain specific trends can be distinguished in the construction and functioning of these systems. The most important among them were the progressive dematerialization of money and the strengthening of the state (governmental) monetary monopoly. Both trends have become even more pronounced in the last three decades with the impact of globalization, financialization and technological advances on monetary systems. At the same time, in recent years, changes in monetary systems, as a result of a combination of these and completely new processes, have accelerated, affecting the properties of contemporary money and the operation of central banks. In this context, the aim of the article is to characterize the two mentioned trends in the evolution of money and central banks, and to present the consequences of these processes for the shape of monetary systems and their further development.