At a financial forum in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Former European Central Bank rate-setter Benoit Coeure said that new payment services providers could potentially come to dominate the market, crowding out commercial banks.
“We should roll up our sleeves and accelerate our work,” Coeure said. “CBDCs will take years to be rolled out, while stable coins and crypto assets are already here. This makes it even more urgent to start.”
He believes CBDCs’ ultimate goal should be to retain the best elements of the current system while still enabling future innovation. “Central bank money has unique advantages: safety, finality, liquidity and integrity,” Coeure said. “As our economies go digital, they must continue to benefit from these advantages.”. Coeure now runs the Innovation Hub at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
