Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), in their promise and potential, are emblematic of a broader shift—a movement toward a more efficient, frictionless digital infrastructure, shaping the future of international trade, cross-border payments, and global financial integration. However, with transformative potential comes inherent complexity.
A recent survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) revealed that the number of central banks likely to issue a CBDC within the next three years has grown in the past year from 15% to 18% for retail CBDCs (rCBDC) and from 8% to 15% for wholesale CBDCs (wCBDC).
Within wCBDC experimentation, operating frameworks in technology and regulation have emerged, led by entities like the BIS Innovation Hub, the global financial-messaging cooperative Swift, and other private-sector players. However, they are constrained by the limited number of participating countries, furthering the issue of fragmentation in cross-border CBDCs.
Current experimentation should incorporate standards-setting bodies (SSBs) such as the Financial Stability Board, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, International Organization for Standardization, and Financial Action Task Force as participants or observers to ensure better collaboration in the development of standards.