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If central banks are to issue digital currency, they must think hard about the design, BoE deputy says

Challenge is to design a currency that balances credibility and convenience, says Hyun Song Shin

The Bank of England’s deputy governor has warned that stablecoin adoption could have profound implications for the money creation of national economies.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has released its newest quarterly report on the changes in the payment industry, including the market impact of the recent coronavirus outbreak. Some of

The BIS Quarterly Review takes an in-depth look at the fast-changing world of payments, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems, describing the rapid pace of technological change and its impact, and assessing new solutions.

Technology is transforming payment systems. The pace of change and potential for disruption to incumbent service providers have propelled payment systems to the top of policymakers' agenda. The BIS and central banks have a leading role in shaping the response.

This Quarterly Review takes an in-depth look at the fast-changing world of payments. The speed of changes and the potential for disruption have propelled payment systems to the top of policymakers' agendas. It also discusses the market impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Among the many central banks that are exploring the possibility of a retail CBDC (Boar et al (2020)), several have published research or statements on the related motivations, architectures, risks and benefits. The table below shows 17 selected projects or reports published before 19 February 2020. It does not cover wholesale CBDCs or cross-border payment projects that do not involve a CBDC. When it comes to the four main design choices (Graph 1 in the main text), many central banks are still considering multiple options, and it is not always possible to classify them. Regarding their architecture (Graph 2 in the main text), five projects focus on a direct CBDC, two on an indirect CBDC, and 10 investigate several designs or do not specify the architecture.

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) promise to provide cash-like safety and convenience for peer-to-peer payments. To do so, they must be resilient and accessible. They should also safeguard the user's privacy, while allowing for effective law enforcement. Different technical designs satisfy these attributes to varying degrees, depending on whether they feature intermediaries, a conventional or distributed infrastructure, account- or token-based access, and retail interlinkages across borders. We set out the underlying trade-offs and the related hierarchy of design choices.1

Claudio Borio's remarks | Hyun Song Shin's remarks

Technological innovation is transforming payments. Domestic payments are increasingly convenient, instantaneous and available 24/7. However, shortcomings in access to payments and cross-border payments remain. Lack of access to payments is a problem in some emerging market and developing economies. Improving cross-border payments will require international coordination. Initiatives to improve cross-border payments would benefit from better data to quantify both the extent and the drivers of the problems.1

Japan’s central bank, like several other central banks across the world in recent months, has been considering creating and launching its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). However, as countries such as China and Sweden are accelerating their developments on a nationwide digital currency, the Bank of Japan has called for a pause on developing the digital yen.

Former Vice President of CIRC of the Party talks about ICOs and cryptocurrency trading bans in China and CBDC is an important national strategic plan.

The Bank of England ’s chief cashier Sarah John has signaled support for an official digital currency, arguing it is “crucial” to central banks to consider central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stepping in before tech giants dominate.

Chinese authorities have postponed research on the digital yuan as the coronavirus continues to spread globally.