Latest news with #CBDC
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Bank of England considers shelving plans for a digital pound
LONDON: Bank of England officials are mulling whether to set aside plans to create a digital pound for households amid growing skepticism about the project's benefits, the latest sign of dwindling support for state-backed digital currencies globally. The BOE has been privately urging the banking industry to instead accelerate payment innovations that could result in similar benefits without the creation of a central bank digital currency - or CBDC - for consumers, according to people familiar with the matter. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Cybersecurity Technology Data Science Artificial Intelligence Leadership others Degree PGDM Product Management Design Thinking Finance CXO healthcare Management Digital Marketing Project Management Data Science Public Policy MBA Healthcare Others Operations Management Data Analytics MCA Skills you'll gain: Duration: 10 Months MIT xPRO CERT-MIT xPRO PGC in Cybersecurity Starts on undefined Get Details The people said the central bank wants to be in a position to launch a CBDC if it is eventually warranted. But it is willing to step back if private businesses continue to roll out new electronic-payment technologies, and its staff believe the gains from pressing ahead with a digital pound launch have diminished. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cleanse your yoga mat like a pro: say goodbye to germs and bacteria! Kingdom Of Men Undo The BOE declined to comment. But Governor Andrew Bailey on Tuesday said at a Parliamentary hearing that "if the work with the commercial banks is successful, I would need a lot of convincing" on the need for so-called Britcoin. "I think that's a sensible place to do it," he told the Treasury Committee. "If that's a success, I question why we need to introduce a new form of money." Live Events The bank's latest approach marks a shift in its tone from only a few years ago, when BOE and Treasury officials said they thought a digital pound was "likely" to be needed. They will make a joint decision on whether to push ahead with the project once the current "design" phase is complete. The BOE governor previously voiced his doubts publicly and has put his focus on banks stepping up a push to tokenized deposits, which is seen as a way to create a stable bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. The change reflects the dwindling interest globally in the creation of state-led digital currencies as stablecoins and other payment innovations emerge. The Trump administration has blocked further work on a CBDC in the US, citing financial stability concerns, and last month South Korea's central bank halted its digital currency pilot program. In contrast, the European Central Bank is still pressing ahead with the launch of a digital euro. Recent research by BOE staff found that the benefits from launching a CBDC are diminishing and senior officials have stepped back from chairing a committee that discusses the project with the private sector in a possible sign of declining interest.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bank of England Considers Shelving Plans for a Digital Pound
(Bloomberg) -- Bank of England officials are mulling whether to set aside plans to create a digital pound for households amid growing skepticism about the project's benefits, the latest sign of dwindling support for state-backed digital currencies globally. Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital The BOE has been privately urging the banking industry to instead accelerate payment innovations that could result in similar benefits without the creation of a central bank digital currency — or CBDC — for consumers, according to people familiar with the matter. The people said the central bank wants to be in a position to launch a CBDC if it is eventually warranted. But it is willing to step back if private businesses continue to roll out new electronic—payment technologies, and its staff believe the gains from pressing ahead with a digital pound launch have diminished. The BOE declined to comment. But Governor Andrew Bailey on Tuesday said at a Parliamentary hearing that 'if the work with the commercial banks is successful, I would need a lot of convincing' on the need for so-called Britcoin. 'I think that's a sensible place to do it,' he told the Treasury Committee. 'If that's a success, I question why we need to introduce a new form of money.' The bank's latest approach marks a shift in its tone from only a few years ago, when BOE and Treasury officials said they thought a digital pound was 'likely' to be needed. They will make a joint decision on whether to push ahead with the project once the current 'design' phase is complete. The BOE governor previously voiced his doubts publicly and has put his focus on banks stepping up a push to tokenized deposits, which is seen as a way to create a stable bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. The change reflects the dwindling interest globally in the creation of state-led digital currencies as stablecoins and other payment innovations emerge. The Trump administration has blocked further work on a CBDC in the US, citing financial stability concerns, and last month South Korea's central bank halted its digital currency pilot program. In contrast, the European Central Bank is still pressing ahead with the launch of a digital euro. Recent research by BOE staff found that the benefits from launching a CBDC are diminishing and senior officials have stepped back from chairing a committee that discusses the project with the private sector in a possible sign of declining interest. The BOE's project is currently at the design phase, putting the UK behind many other jurisdictions, and the central bank and government have yet to make a final decision on whether to launch a CBDC. But the potential creation of such a digital pound has raised concerns about consumer privacy and destabilizing impacts if investors flooded into state-backed digital currencies as a haven during times of crisis, siphoning cash away from other corners of the financial system. In the UK, the nascent project has also attracted the attention of conspiracy theory groups, faced attacks from lawmakers and prompted over 50,000 responses during a request for public comments. In June, Bailey said he was not yet 'convinced that we need to create new forms of money.' While he has signaled his backing to create a wholesale CBDC for transactions between financial institutions, he has been cooler on one aimed at households. Even so, Bailey has raised concerns over the emergence of stablecoins, particularly the risk that one launched by either a foreign country or big tech firm could gain popularity in the UK and undermine the public's trust in the traditional currency. That could prompt the BOE to move forward with its own alternative. Absent that, some in the central bank have seen waning gains from a CBDC. A BOE paper published late last year warned that the benefits have diminished considerably in recent years as consumers increasingly use existing online payment technologies. BOE Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden and the Treasury's director general for financial services Gwyneth Nurse have both recently stepped back from chairing the CBDC Engagement Forum, which brings together officials, the banking sector and researchers, opting to send less senior staff instead. Minutes from the latest meeting, which were published in April, said this was due to it 'entering a more detailed phase of design work.' (Updates with Bailey comments on CBDC) Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Finextra
17 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
Bank of England mulls shelving of digital pound
The Bank of England is considering shelving plans for the creation of a digital pound amid growing scepticism over the project's benefits. 0 The BofE has been privately urging the banking industry to instead accelerate payment innovations that could result in similar benefits without the creation of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for consumers, according to anonymous sources cited by Bloomberg. The sources said the central bank wants to be in a position to launch a CBDC if it is eventually warranted. But it is willing to step back if private businesses continue to roll out new electronic-payment technologies, and its staff believe the gains from pressing ahead with a digital pound launch have diminished. The central bank in Janaury announced plans to open a Digital Pound Lab that would set out the blueprint of a design phase for a future Bricoin. At the time, the Bank offered a cautious assessment of the project's mertis: "As is the case with all our work during the design phase, no decision has yet been taken on whether to build a digital pound. Design notes do not represent final policy or design decisions, nor do they represent policy proposals upon which we are formally consulting. "On completion of the design phase and taking account of evolutions in the wider payments landscape, the Bank and the Government will decide whether to proceed to build a digital pound. The Bank's current thinking is in stark contrast to that taken by the European Central Bank, which is accelerating work on a digital euro to keep up with the "ambitious pace" set by EU leaders as the project's urgency increases in the face of geopolitical challenges including an increasingly hostile United States under Donald Trump. In its third progress report on the preparation phase of a CBDC, the ECB acknowledges that since its last update in December, there has been an increased push from the continent's leaders to reduce its reliance on Visa and Mastercard. Remarking on the progress report, ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone says: "We are pleased to see that our efforts remain on track as we keep working to deliver on the request of EU leaders to accelerate progress on a digital euro. In light of today's geopolitical and economic challenges, we welcome an ambitious pace for the legislative work."
Business Times
21 hours ago
- Business
- Business Times
Bank of England considers shelving plans for a digital pound
[LONDON] Bank of England (BOE) officials are mulling whether to set aside plans to create a digital pound for households amid growing scepticism over the project's benefits, the latest sign of dwindling support for state-backed digital currencies globally. The BOE has been privately urging the banking industry to instead accelerate payment innovations that could result in similar benefits without the creation of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for consumers, according to sources familiar with the matter. The sources said the central bank wants to be in a position to launch a CBDC if it is eventually warranted. But it is willing to step back if private businesses continue to roll out new electronic-payment technologies, and its staff believe the gains from pressing ahead with a digital pound launch have diminished. The BOE declined to comment. The bank's latest approach marks a shift in its tone from only a few years ago, when BOE and Treasury officials said they thought a digital pound was 'likely' to be needed. They will make a joint decision on whether to push ahead with the project once the current 'design' phase is complete. BOE governor Andrew Bailey recently voiced his doubts publicly and has put his focus on banks stepping up a push to tokenised deposits, which is seen as a way to create a stable bridge between traditional finance and digital assets. The change reflects the dwindling interest globally in the creation of state-led digital currencies as stablecoins and other payment innovations emerge. The Trump administration has blocked further work on a CBDC in the US, citing financial stability concerns, and last month South Korea's central bank halted its digital currency pilot programme. In contrast, the European Central Bank is still pressing ahead with the launch of a digital euro. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Recent research by BOE staff found that the benefits from launching a CBDC are diminishing and senior officials have stepped back from chairing a committee that discusses the project with the private sector in a possible sign of declining interest. The BOE's project is currently at the design phase, putting the UK behind many other jurisdictions, and the central bank and government have yet to make a final decision on whether to launch a CBDC. But the potential creation of such a digital pound has raised concerns about consumer privacy and destabilising impacts if investors flooded into state-backed digital currencies as a haven during times of crisis, syphoning cash away from other corners of the financial system. In the UK, the nascent project has also attracted the attention of conspiracy theory groups, faced attacks from lawmakers and prompted over 50,000 responses during a request for public comments. In June, Bailey said he is not yet 'convinced that we need to create new forms of money'. While he has signalled his backing to create a wholesale CBDC for transactions between financial institutions, he has been cooler on one aimed at households. Even so, Bailey has raised concerns over the emergence of stablecoins, particularly the risk that one launched by either a foreign country or big tech firm could gain popularity in the UK and undermine the public's trust in the traditional currency. That could prompt the BOE to move forward with its own alternative. Absent that, some in the central bank have seen waning gains from a CBDC. A BOE paper published late last year warned that the benefits have diminished considerably in recent years as consumers increasingly use existing online payment technologies. BOE deputy governor Sarah Breeden and the Treasury's director general for financial services Gwyneth Nurse have both recently stepped back from chairing the CBDC Engagement Forum, which brings together officials, the banking sector and researchers, opting to send less senior staff instead. Minutes from the latest meeting, which were published in April, said this was due to it 'entering a more detailed phase of design work.' BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bank of England Considers Shelving Plans for a Digital Pound
Bank of England officials are mulling whether to set aside plans to create a digital pound for households amid growing skepticism over the project's benefits, the latest sign of dwindling support for state-backed digital currencies globally. The BOE has been privately urging the banking industry to instead accelerate payment innovations that could result in similar benefits without the creation of a central bank digital currency — or CBDC — for consumers, according to people familiar with the matter.
