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Central banks around the world have been researching and developing their own digital currencies for retail transactions to avoid leaving too much of the digital payment business to the private sector as cash declines accelerate, and some are also considering introducing digital currency mechanisms for wholesale transactions between financial institutions.

In its survey, the BIS found that the majority of new central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will be found in the retail space, with 11 central banks likely to join countries and territories such as the Bahamas, the Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica, and Nigeria, which have already piloted retail versions of their digital currencies by the end of 2022.

The report’s authors also wrote: “Enhancing cross-border payments is one of the key drivers for central banks to work on wholesale versions of CBDC.”

The Swiss National Bank said in late June that it would issue a wholesale version of the CBDC on the Swiss Digital Exchange, the European Central Bank is expected to launch a pilot of the digital euro in 2028, which will cover a population of 260 million. Two other large emerging economies, India and Brazil, plan to launch digital currencies next year.

The BIS also said the proportion of central banks already working on at least some kind of CBDC rose to 93% in its survey, with 60% saying the emergence of cryptocurrencies had accelerated their work. the BIS said “if cryptocurrencies are widely used for payments, they may pose a threat to financial stability.”

The post BIS: 24 Global Central Banks to Circulate Digital Currencies by 2030 appeared first on TechGoing.

Later, the pilot program will be extended to nine more cities, including Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna and Shimla, with four more institutions to joining, the RBI said.

The test will be conducted with a select group of customers and merchants. The digital rupee will be issued in the same denominations as existing bills and coins, can be paid to merchants using QR codes, and like cash, there will be no processing fees for the digital rupee.

The RBI announced its plans to build a prototype digital rupee in October of this year and tested it in a series of scenarios and use cases.

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