With the race of developing and launching central bank digital currency (CBDC) increasing every day, most countries are chalking out their plans to be in the forefront. Today, the scale at which CBDCs are growing it reflects the greater need to have a cross borderless payment mechanism, credit creation and reducing financial crimes.
European Union has been looking to float a CBDC-like currency past few years and even rolled out a project in 2021. The European Commission wants to scale up its efforts in exploring the Digital Euro and has given a shoutout to the financial specialists to examine the rollout.
According to a Bank of International Settlement report, there are currently three active CBDCs operating and at least 28 are in the testing phase. Among those in the testing phase, China seems to have its nose ahead in the race with e-CNY trials in select cities.
In a notice on 5 April, the European Commission revealed that it is in the process of preparing a detailed assessment of CBDCs and what positives they can bring to the various service providers such as retailers, financial service providers, etc.
The Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and Capital Markets Union revealed that it would be reaching out to industry experts to get a deeper understanding of the issues and the impact that digital euro would have on the financial sector.
