BIS and central banks explore digital currencies.
In recent days the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published a bumper crop of reports offering insights on aspects of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), in collaboration with a number of central banks.
“For central bank digital currencies to work effectively, public and private institutions need to cooperate to ensure integration with existing payments systems; to anticipate customers’ future needs; and to support innovation while preserving public trust, privacy and stability in the broader financial system,” it says. These are offered as the key conclusions from a set of three reports produced with a group of seven central banks, tackling system design and interoperability, user needs and adoption, and financial stability implications.
The mBridge project between the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre and four central banks also reports on its prototype platform to connect multiple CBDCs, which seeks to demonstrate the potential for real-time, cheaper and safer cross-border payments and settlements. This was “able to complete international transfers and foreign exchange operations in seconds.”
