Survey Reveals Growing Interest in CBDCs Worldwide

According to a survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 93% of central banks are already investigating central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and by 2030 there could be as many as 15 retail and nine wholesale CBDCs in circulation.

The survey of 86 central banks, published on July 10, was conducted from October to December 2022.

It inquired whether central banks were working on retail, wholesale, or both types of CBDC, as well as the status of their work and their motivations.

More than half of the world’s central banks are conducting experiments or working on a CBDC pilot, according to a survey.

Nearly one-fourth of all central banks are piloting their retail CBDC projects, while the number of wholesale CBDCs in development is much smaller.

Emerging markets and developing economies are the geoeconomic leaders in CBDC adoption.

Their piloting of the retail (29%) and wholesale (16%) CBDCs is nearly double that of advanced economies, which is 18% and 10%, respectively.

Developing and advanced economies have similar motivations for their CBDC projects: financial stability and efficiency in cross-border payments.

However, developing nations are typically motivated by financial inclusion.

In 2022, the proportion of central banks expected to issue a retail CBDC within the next three years increased from 15% to 18%.

Nonetheless, 68% of central banks continue to express their unwillingness to issue retail CBDCs “anytime soon.”

There are currently only four CBDCs in circulation: one each in the Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, Jamaica, and Nigeria.

Nevertheless, based on central bankers’ responses, the survey predicts that 15 retail CBDCs and nine wholesale CBDCs will be operational by the end of this decade.

At the end of June, the Reserve Bank of India reported ongoing negotiations with at least 18 central banks worldwide regarding the possibility of international payments using its CBDC, the “digital rupee.”

In July, the Innovation Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York completed its proof-of-concept for a regulated liability network for a CBDC.