The Bank of Japan is to begin the first phase of proof-of-concept testing of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in early 2021, according to a statement published by the bank... More
Central bank digital currency (CBDC)
Central banks set out ground rules for digital currencies
A working group set up by seven central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has laid out a set of ground rules for the successful issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)... More
PBOC distributes digital currency to consumers via red envelope lottery
Consumers in the city of Shenzhen are being offered the opportunity to win one of 50,000 ‘red envelopes’ containing 200 digital yuan (US$29.65) that they can spend at any of more than 3,000 retail outlets in the city that now accept China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC)... More
Bank of Korea to test central bank digital currency
The Bank of Korea (BOK) is to issue and circulate a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2021 to test its viability as an alternative to cash and other forms of transaction... More
PBOC reports results of central bank digital currency pilot
More than 113,000 Chinese consumers have now used a digital wallet supporting “multiple payment methods, including barcode, facial recognition and tap-and-go transactions” to conduct a transaction using China’s new central bank digital currency, the People’s Bank of China has revealed. More
European Central Bank sets out case for a digital euro
The introduction of a digital euro “would support Europe’s drive towards continued innovation”, “strengthen the international role of the euro” and provide consumers with “free access to a simple, universally accepted, risk-free and trusted means of payment”, according to a new report published by the European Central Bank (ECB)... More
Bahamas to roll out central bank digital currency nationwide
The Central Bank of The Bahamas is to launch its Sand Dollar central bank digital currency (CBDC) across the entire archipelago in October, after piloting the new e-currency on the islands of Exuma and Abaco... More
DBS reports on the digital currency market in Asia
Asia is leading the way in the use and development of digital currencies and remains the world’s largest digital payments market, with China alone accounting for more than half of the total transaction value worldwide, according to a new research paper published by Singapore’s DBS Bank... More
BIS reports on central bank digital currency initiatives around the world
Countries with digitised and innovative economies are more likely to be developing central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects while those with a larger informal economy are tending to focus on creating retail CBDCs, a working paper published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reports... More
Brazil sets up central bank digital currency group
The Banco Central do Brasil has formed a study group to evaluate the benefits and challenges of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the country... More
China to expand central bank digital currency pilot to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong
China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced that pilot testing of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) developed by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is to be expanded to cover the country’s major commercial regions and cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau... More
Visa files central bank digital currency ecosystem patent
Visa has filed an application for a patent that sets out a way for a central bank to take fiat money that is currently in circulation, digitize it, remove the converted physical currency from circulation and then enable consumers and merchants to conduct transactions using a digital wallet “stored on a chip of a smartcard or a secure element of a user device”... More
Starbucks and McDonald’s to pilot central bank digital currency in China
Starbucks, McDonald’s among 19 firms to test China’s digital yuan — Coindesk — “Starbucks and McDonald’s are reportedly among 19 restaurants and retail shops that will be involved in testing China’s central bank digital currency in the country’s Xiong’An new district, a local news outlet reported on Thursday, citing a government document. The move signals China’s wider efforts to test the digital currency project, with state-owned commercial banks already developing wallet applications for the digital yuan, also known as DC/EP.”
China’s central bank confirms plans for digital currency pilots
Internal closed pilot tests of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) developed by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) are to be conducted in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Xiong’an New District, Chengdu, and at Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics locations, China’s central bank has revealed... More
BIS reports on likely impact of Covid-19 on cash, cards and mobile payments
The pandemic may result in increased calls to defend the role of cash, moves towards more quickly introducing central bank digital currencies and a structural increase in the use of mobile, card and online payments, a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) research bulletin analysing the likely impact of Covid-19 says... More
Bahamas expands digital currency pilot
The Central Bank of The Bahamas has extended its central bank digital currency pilot to the island of Abaco and revealed that the new Sand Dollar currency will include support for offline functionality... More
Sweden begins central bank digital currency pilot
Sweden’s central bank The Riksbank has begun testing a digital currency designed to enable consumers to store an electronic version of the Swedish krona in a digital wallet and make payments, deposits and withdrawals using a mobile app... More
Federal Reserve sets out its digital currency position
The digitalization of payments and currency: Some issues for consideration — The Federal Reserve — “Given the dollar’s important role, it is essential that we remain on the frontier of research and policy development regarding CBDC [Central Bank Digital Currency]. Like other central banks, we are conducting research and experimentation related to distributed ledger technologies and their potential use case for digital currencies, including the potential for a CBDC. We are collaborating with other central banks as we advance our understanding of central bank digital currencies.”
World Economic Forum publishes central bank digital currency toolkit
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”... More
Central banks set up digital currency group
The Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the European Central Bank, the Sveriges Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank, together with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), are to work together “to assess potential cases for central bank digital currencies”... More