The main drivers that motivate Arab central banks and monetary authorities to engage in a CBDC project reflect initially the importance of promoting a cashless economy and fostering financial inclusion. The first four drivers are: (i) to move to a cashless…
This year, the Digital Frontiers Institute convened the first CBDC Workshop focusing on emerging market and developing economies. The workshop aimed to: Firm up the understanding of the definition of CBDCs; Increase understanding that the CBDC “pathway”…
In September, Visa published a pair of CBDC reports about Universal Payment Channels (UPCs). The specifics of UPCs are laid out in the research paper Universal Payment Channels: An Interoperability Platform for Digital Currencies. The second paper, Cross-border…
Project Sand Dollar is a Central Bank of The Bahamas initiative to promote more inclusive access to regulated payments and other financial services for unbanked and underbanked communities and socio-economic groups. Additionally, by introducing this retail…
Like any other disruptive innovation, when a newly emerging phenomenon is addressed, the recommended approach is an experimental exploration. Central banks worldwide are now engaging in this process, as experts have yet to determine the specific steps…
Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and stablecoins captured the headlines in 2020, with central banks ramping up their research and pilot projects and the first issuance of a retail CBDC. What sort of developments can we expect in 2021? CBPN caught…
To provide a detailed database for CBDC projects, we have set up the CBDC Tracker. The CBDC Tracker is an open-source tool gathering CBDC-related information worldwide. The CBDC Tracker can be used to compare CBDC projects according to a broad array of…
Disruptive technologies. Even better, technology that explicitly aims to disintermediate traditional banks. There are three possible reactions: you can simply ignore it, you may hope they disappear, or you can try to understand and embrace the change. In…
In this exclusive interview, former ECB Director General of Payment Systems and Market Infrastructure Jean-Michel Godeffroy weighs the case for central bank digital currencies.
