On 25 May 2023, a group of central banks, together with the Bank for International Settlements, published a paper on central bank digital currencies (CBDC): ongoing policy perspectives.

Since publishing (i) a report in October 2020 setting out the common foundational principles and core features of a CBDC, and (ii) an executive summary and three detailed reports on system design and interoperability, user needs and adoption and financial stability implications in September 2021, the group has continued to share ideas and perspectives on similar themes, which are summarised in this paper.

The paper highlights the following:

  • Development of CBDC work requires careful consideration and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including private sector and legislators.
  • To successfully meet its policy objectives, a CBDC ecosystem should allow a wide range of private and public stakeholders to participate and, in doing so; deliver services, which benefit end users.
  • The complex design questions and the potential risks arising from the implementation of any CBDC require careful consideration.
  • The evolving payments landscape requires central banks to give some consideration to how CBDCs may be used for wholesale and cross-border cases.