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Many countries of the world have begun studying and considering issuing a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC), with China already nearing the launching of its long-planned Digital Yuan. However, the central bank of Australia appears not to be a keen fan of the digital currency, at least for the moment. Today, one of the central bank’s executives disclosed that they see no real case for the issuance of a retail national digital currency or CBDC.
Australia and retail CBDC
This was made known on Wednesday by the central bank’s head of payment policy, Tony Richards, at a crypto and blockchain conference, according to the report. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) officially disclosed that they had examined the need for retail national digital currency, but couldn’t see any “strong public policy case” for issuing the digital version of the Australian dollar.
For a fact, Richards admitted that there had been a decline in the use of the Australian dollar for transactions. However, it still remains acceptable and widely accessible as a medium for payment. Additionally, the RBA official noted that the country has a resilient digital payment system which is efficiently serving the residents in Australia, including local businesses and companies 24/7.
RBA will examine wholesale CBDC
Having said that, the central sees no strong case for launching a retail CBDC; Richards did mention that they could possibly change their mind as time proceeds. The central bank will continuously study the potential risks and benefits associated with the digital currency if launched. Besides considering the use cases for the digital currency, the bank will equally evaluate the policy and technological challenges involved in the launching of a wholesale CBDC.While Australia and other countries continue to evaluate the use cases for a central bank digital currency, the Republic of China is already closer to launching one, as the Digital Yuan is currently being tested across some cities.
