On 14 January 2025, the Bank of England (BoE) published a progress update and a design note on the blueprint framework for a digital pound.

Background

The BoE and HM Treasury are exploring the possibility of introducing a digital pound, as a digital complement to banknotes. If introduced, the digital pound would be issued by the BoE and would aim to be ‘seamlessly exchangeable’ with cash and bank deposits, to ensure the continuity of a trusted, uniform and accessible means of payment. 

Progress update

The BoE notes that no decision has been made on whether to proceed with a digital pound. The BoE and the Government plans to complete the design phase over the next two years, including taking account of developments in the wider payments landscape, and will then assess the policy case for a digital pound and decide whether or not to proceed.

Primary legislation would be required to introduce a digital pound, and the BoE notes that the legislation would safeguard users’ privacy, guaranteeing that neither the BoE nor the Government could access users’ personal information nor control how households and businesses use their money. There would be further public consultation before the Government introduces any primary legislation.

The progress update goes on to summarise work over the past year, including how it relates to the evolving payments landscape (such as the Government’s recently published National Payments Vision). The BoE plans to publish regular future progress updates, which will also be supplemented by design notes on specific topics related to a digital pound.

Design note on blueprint framework

The design note provides an outline of the BoE’s initial thinking on the potential aims, scope and focus areas of a digital pound blueprint.

The blueprint – which is one of 4 workstreams in the digital pound design phase – is intended to provide a comprehensive proposition for a digital pound, including technology, operational, ecosystem, commercial, regulatory and financial considerations, and the roles that both the BoE and the private sector could play in delivering it. The BoE explains that, once complete, the blueprint will be a record of the proposed model and design of a potential digital pound and will form the basis for assessing the benefits and costs.

The design note identifies the key components the BoE and HM Treasury will explore in developing the blueprint – product vision and strategy; scheme and regulation; technology; and operations. The BoE invites feedback on whether these components provide a suitable set of focus areas for the blueprint. Further design notes will be published later in the design phase, where it is judged necessary to gather more in-depth feedback on specific topics or blueprint components.