The World Economic Forum has released a Policy-Maker Toolkit for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), designed “to help central banks evaluate, design and potentially deploy CBDC”.

“The framework is intended to help accelerate critical and rigorous analysis of CBDC and lay common groundwork for central banks to support stable, efficient and inclusive global systems that might include CBDC,” the World Economic Forum says.

The Central Bank Digital Currency Policy-Maker Toolkit “provides high‑level guidance and information for retail, wholesale, cross‑border and private sector-issued ‘hybrid CBDC’ as well as for large, small, emerging and developed countries.”

It also “guides users through the CBDC evaluation process, with descriptions for each stage of the process. Worksheets and information guides with research references accompany and correspond to each section.

“These documents serve as process checks and references to the decision‑making process. It also evaluates the role of distributed ledger technology within CBDC implementation and highlights important governance, user-data privacy, financial inclusion and security issues.”

“The past six months have been a wake-up call for some central bank policy-makers. Central bank digital currency has risen to prominence as a potential solution to multiple challenges such as financial inclusion and payment system efficiency,” the Forum adds.

“Given the critical roles central banks play in the global economy, any central bank digital currency implementation, including potentially with blockchain technology, will have a profound impact domestically and internationally,” says Sheila Warren, head of blockchain and distributed ledger technology at the World Economic Forum.

“It is imperative that central banks proceed cautiously, with a rigorous analysis of the opportunities and challenges posed.”

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