Reserve Bank of Australia forms partnerships to research CBDC

Published at: Nov. 2, 2020

According to a Nov. 2 announcement from The Reserve Bank of Australia, or RBA, the financial institution will be partnering with the Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, the financial services company Perpetual, and software company ConsenSys on a project to explore the potential use of a wholesale central bank digital currency in the country using “Ethereum-based distributed ledger technology."

The RBA stated it would be researching the development of a proof-of-concept for “the issuance of a tokenized form of CBDC.” It specifically mentioned wholesale market participants potentially using the digital currency for tokenized syndicated loans on an DLT platform and exploring the implications of delivery-versus-payment security settlements with cross-chain atomic swaps.

“With this project we are aiming to explore the implications of a CBDC for efficiency, risk management and innovation in wholesale financial market transactions,” stated Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Michele Bullock.

“While the case for the use of a CBDC in these markets remains an open question, we are pleased to be collaborating with industry partners to explore if there is a future role for a wholesale CBDC in the Australian payments system,” he added.

The move is part of an ongoing about-face for the RBA when it comes to CBDC policy. On Oct. 14, the head of payments policy at the RBA said the bank would continue to research CBDCs despite the financial institution stating there was not a strong policy case for issuing one in September.

As alternatives to issuing a CBDC, the bank has pointed to the success of the country’s efficient, real-time New Payments Platform, and stated it is willing to provide access to fiat banknotes “for as long as Australians wish to keep using them."

The central bank said the project will be finished by the end of the year and it will issue a report in 2021.

Tags
Business
Australia
Central Bank
Cbdc
Related Posts
Australian CBDC receives unexpected interest but could hurt banks: RBA
A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot program in Australia has received more than 140 use case proposals from the finance industry, but the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) warns that it could displace the Australian dollar and result in people avoiding commercial banks entirely. The RBA released a speech on Dec. 8 to be given by Assistant Governor Brad Jones at a central bank conference held from Dec. 8 to Dec. 9 local time, in which Jones speaks at length about what effect a CBDC could have on the Australian economy. Jones notes that the RBA has been surprised …
Adoption / Dec. 8, 2022
Australian central bank to launch 'live pilot' of CBDC in coming months
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the country's central bank, has released a report outlining use case proposals for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The RBA said on Mar. 2 local time that financial industry participants were also chosen to implement the chosen use cases and were invited to participate in a live pilot that is to take place over the coming months. The use cases proposed by the RBA included offline payments, tax automation and a CBDC for "trusted Web3 commerce." The selected partners for the use case trial ranged from banks, such as Commonwealth Bank and Australia …
Business / March 1, 2023
OKex embraces Brazil’s official fast payments system PIX, as CBDC draws nearer
Increasing numbers of offshore cryptocurrency exchanges are embracing Brazil’s instant payments infrastructure, PIX. On May 28, OKEx announced a strategic partnership with local payments firm CuboPay, allowing it to facilitate Tether ($USDT) purchases in exchange for Brazilian real via PIX. The news follows similar moves from rival exchanges, including Crypto.com peer-to-peer platform Localbitcoins. The integrations come as the Central Bank of Brazil, or BCB, published preliminary guidelines for a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, on May 25. The announcement emphasizes that the CBDC will operate “as an extension of the physical currency,” and is intended to improve the retail …
Technology / May 28, 2021
Bank of Japan to trial digital yen with three megabanks
Despite Japan’s uncertainty on whether to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Bank of Japan (BoJ) continues experimenting with a potential digital yen. The Japanese central bank has started a collaboration with three megabanks and regional banks to conduct a CBDC issuance pilot, the local news agency Nikkei reported on Nov. 23. The pilot aims to provide demo experiments for the issuance of Japan’s national digital currency, a digital yen, starting in spring 2023. As part of the trial, the BoJ is expected to cooperate with major private banks and other organizations to detect and solve any issues …
Adoption / Nov. 23, 2022
Tanzania ‘cautious’ on CBDC adoption after initial research
Tanzania's central bank says it is still considering the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) but will be a taking "phased, cautious and risk based approach" after identifying several challenges that could impact its implementation. According to a Jan. 14 public notice from The Bank of Tanzania, since its 2021 announcement about a possible CBDC rollout, the East African country formed a multidisciplinary technical team to explore the risks and benefits of CBDCs. The bank revealed its team has conducted research looking into different types of CBDCs, models for issuance and management and whether it could be token-based …
Decentralization / Jan. 16, 2023