A press release has revealed the creation of a group by six central banks together with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The purpose of the group is to research central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The central banks of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, the European Union, Sweden and Switzerland are involved.

The joint effort involves sharing experiences with group members as they look into likely use cases for CBDCs in their respective countries. According to the press release, there will be an assessment of CBDC use cases, economic, functional and technical design choices, as well as cross-border interoperability.

Besides, it was stated that the group would share knowledge regarding new technologies. There will be close coordination with the relevant institutions and forums, especially the Financial Stability Board and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI).

Two individuals will co-chair the group: Benoît Cœuré of BIS Innovation Hub as well as Jon Cunliffe of the Bank of England. Senior representatives from the six central banks and the BIS will be involved.

Several central banks globally have started researching, piloting, and actively pursuing a variety of digital currencies, as well as CBDCs.

It was reported some days ago that the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde is in support of the ECB’s efforts to develop a CBDC. According to Lagarde, the ECB should be the leader of the movement to meet the pressing demand for fast and low-cost payments.

Some central banks are still trying to know whether it is good to implement a CBDC. However, the central bank of China recently announced the completion of its top-layer design and joint testing of the digital Yuan.

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