The Swedish central bank is starting to test the use of the e-crown digital currency in the real world, and will include commercial banks in the project.
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Central banks around the world plan to launch central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in response to reduced cash use and as a way to speed up domestic and international payments.
So far, the e-crown pilot project has been simulated only within the Riksbank, and in the next phase the project will be expanded to include participants such as commercial banks, the central bank said.
"The technology provides new opportunities, but has not been tried when it comes to processing payments in a small and with the necessary level of security," the Riksbank said.
The pilot project takes a year, with the aim of testing possible ways to publicly use the e-crown in Sweden.
The Riksbank cannot yet confirm which banks or payment service providers will help in the next phase of testing, but the purpose is to assess how the e-kronor could be used for both large commercial and small payments.
A survey conducted in January by the Bank for International Clearing found that central banks that 'cover' a fifth of the world's population are likely to start issuing their own digital currencies over the next three years. Many central banks see CBDC as a means to prevent cryptocurrency from concussing and maintain the central role of public authorities in the payment system.
So far, most central banks have only come up with CBDC research. Only the Bahamas introduced CBDC, while Sweden and China began testing it.
Via Tportal
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