CBDC - central bank digital currency coming

"Central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments are flourishing across the world, with the Bank for International Settlements estimating that 90% of central banks are currently researching CBDCs, running multiple concepts or starting pilots. Not satisfied with sitting on the sidelines of digital currency innovation, a private sector initiative called Project New Era recently launched a green paper, ?A New Era for Money?, calling for greater collaboration between central banks, regulators, commercial banks and other financial institutions on a UK CBDC....Retail payments: enabling domestic payments to address card and account transfer inefficiencies, along with programmable payments."https://www.thebanker.com/Editor-s-Blog/UK-private-sector-consortium-enters-the-CBDC-game


Use cases for programmability inherent in a digital currency:
1) Ability to monitor and prevent criminals from using their currency
2) Program a part of issued currency to be restricted to essential goods. (ex: Only allow welfare benefit payments to be used for food/essentials.)
3) Can control movement of people in times of climate lock downs or any other necessary restrictions of movement by restricting the radius within which a person can spend money.  (Ex:  You can only spend money within 5 miles radius of your home or your digital wallet will be disabled. Maybe your cell phone alerting you to a perimeter warning.)
4) Meat shortage coming due to climate change, can limit how much of your money can be used on meat.
5) Can use in conjunction with carbon points/tax.  Help regulate your carbon usage as tied to how you can use money.  (Ex:  Prevent people from flying if they already used up their carbon points, thereby helping to prevent climate change all for the greater good.  People may be able to buy/sell carbon points on the open market of some type - carbon market - to make extra cash or to purchase the privilege of more air travel.)
6)  Works well with digital ID/digital ration cards to designate how much of what a person can purchase, especially in times of shortages and to conform to climate change/carbon guidelines.
7)  The digital ID wallet can be disabled or currencies can be made to expire to help dissuade people from protesting or otherwise voice opinions that may not be in line with what is expected for the greater good. 
8 )  It can help prevent people from seeking the wrong information online that may agitate them.  Monthly subscription to certain sites or other online services can be stopped and any purchases of literature online may also be prevented or limited through the programmable nature of the currencies.
9)  Many more benefits for the currency issuer that will help them run things more smoothly and allow everyone to contribute and behave for the "greater good".
 
"Bank of England to Ministers: Digital cash could be programmed to ensure it is only spent on "essentials"

"Digital cash could be programmed to ensure it is only spent on essentials, or goods which an employer or Government deems to be sensible... The Bank of England has called on ministers to decide whether a central bank digital currency should be 'programmable', ultimately giving the issuer control over how it is spent by the recipient."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/06/21/bank-england-tells-ministers-intervene-digital-currency-programming/"
https://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,17625.0.html
 
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Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets:
"...to assess the optimal form of a United States CBDC, and to develop a strategic plan for Federal Reserve and broader United States Government action, as appropriate, that evaluates the necessary steps and requirements for the potential implementation and launch of a United States CBDC.  The Chairman of the Federal Reserve is also encouraged to evaluate the extent to which a United States CBDC, based on the potential design options [design options include whether currency is programmable or not], could enhance or impede the ability of monetary policy to function effectively as a critical macroeconomic stabilization tool."https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...ng-responsible-development-of-digital-assets/
 
CBDC most likely to be digital ID/digital wallet based:
Two issues: 1) to prevent illicit activity, central banks may decide against anonymity (no privacy) and 2) to avoid the interest arbitrage, central banks may limit digital wallet balance and cap or cancel interest earned on CBDC.
"...central banks have imposed caps on balances, paid no interest on CBDC, or considered imposing a penalty interest rate on holdings above some threshold. To avoid facilitating illicit activity, central banks have mostly decided against fully anonymous accounts or capped anonymous transactions, and have tasked commercial bank intermediaries with monitoring customers and transactions."https://www.ft.com/content/88f47c48-97fe-4df3-854e-0d404a3a5f9a

In the table (exhibit 4) in the article, it states that:
- "no country plans to adopt a CBDC that pays interest,
- Sweden is considering imposing a balance cap on wallets and potentially charging negative interest rates on CBDC, and
- In China digital wallets have balance caps and transaction limits."


 
"Starting in the fall of 2022, the city of Bologna [Italy] will begin a new pilot project. Citizens who display good behavior such as correctly recycling or using public transportation will be rewarded. The Bologna municipality is deploying a 'Smart Citizen Wallet' which will be the primary method for citizens to collect digital coins in exchange for behavioral changes. Based on the given scores, a person can also receive discounts for local shops. The primary argument for this program is to 'save resources' and promote climate friendly behavior."https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/0...-change-behaviors-is-being-deployed-in-italy/
 
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On yahoo finance 9/16: "Treasury recommends exploring creation of a digital dollar

The White House said on Friday that after President Joe Biden issued an executive order in March calling on a variety of agencies to look at ways to regulate digital assets, ...Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said one Treasury recommendation is that the U.S. advance policy and technical work on a potential central bank digital currency, or CBDC,...

...Central bank digital currencies differ from existing digital money available to the general public, such as the balance in a bank account, because they would be a direct liability of the Federal Reserve, not a commercial bank...."https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/treasury-recommends-exploring-creation-digital-103340710.html
 
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Federal Reserve to launch centralized payment system summer of 2023 (FedNow app)

"CBDC Alternative FedNow to Launch Next Summer

The U.S. Federal Reserve says that it will introduce its instant payments service, FedNow, by next summer. ...According to the Federal Reserve, FedNow is an instant payment system that offers real-time transactions between households, businesses, and financial institutions in the United States. ...Brainard, meanwhile, has indicated that launching a CBDC would require congressional approval and take at least five years to design and implement. As such, FedNow will almost certainly precede the completion of any CBDC efforts in the U.S...."https://cryptobriefing.com/cbdc-alternative-fednow-to-launch-next-summer/

FedNow readiness guide for stakeholders:

FedNow Explorer – Instant Payments Learning & Resources

Browse our full list of resources to get up-to-speed on instant payments and the FedNow Service.
explore.fednow.org explore.fednow.org

What your FedNow app may look like on your phone (see image on article):https://www.pymnts.com/news/faster-...instant-invoices-put-control-in-payers-hands/
 
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Bo Li, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) describing programmability of CBDCs:

“A CBDC can allow government agencies and private sector players to program, to create smart contracts, to allow targeted policy functions,” Li explained. “For example, welfare payments, for example, consumption coupons, for example, food stamps.”
Click to expand...

“By programming CBDC, that money can be precisely targeted for what kind of people can own [CBDC] and for what kind of use this money can be utilized, for example for food.”
Click to expand...

Video of Bo Li speaking regarding CBDC at the IMF meeting on Oct. 14:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1581332286338842624



Full video of CBDC Financial Inclusion Seminar at the Oct. 14 IMF meeting:
 
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Neel Kashkari (President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) on CBDC:

"...I am pretty skeptical...I keep asking anybody, ANYBODY, at the Fed or outside of the Fed to explain to me what problem this is solving....I can send anybody in this room $5 with Venmo right now. So what is it that a CBDC can do that Venmo can't do? ...and all I get is a bunch of hand waving, ...maybe it's better for financial inclusion, maybe it's better for cross border remittances, maybe...is there any evidence that it is? And they say what about China, China is doing it...well, I can see why China would do it. If they want to monitor every one of your transactions, you can do that with the CBDC, you can't do that with Venmo. If you want to impose negative interest rates, you can do that with the CBDC, you can't do that with Venmo. And if you want to directly tax customer accounts, you can do that with the CBDC, you can't do that with Venmo. So I get why China would be interested. Why would the American people be for that?"
Video of Neel Kashkari:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1563159397450526720
 
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CBA announces Australian banking first carbon tracking feature​


"Commonwealth Bank has announced an Australian banking first by providing personalised carbon footprints for customers based on their spending data...The first phase of the partnership will allow a select group of retail customers to view their carbon footprint via the CommBank app and offset their previous month’s transactions by purchasing carbon credits. This new feature will be available to all retail customers next year."
www.commbank.com.au

CBA announces Australian banking first carbon tracking feature

CBA to provide personalised carbon footprint for customers based on their spending data in a partnership with fintech start-up CoGo.
www.commbank.com.au www.commbank.com.au
 
Chris Waller of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve likens the CBDC as a person having a checking account at the Fed:
"The dollar, he said, remains the central currency of the international monetary system. Sixty percent of foreign reserves and more than half of the world’s gross domestic product is held in dollars. And it remains the single most widely used currency in foreign transactions. “Why is allowing U.S. households to have a checking account at the Fed going to make those things stronger? That’s what a CBDC is.”"
hls.harvard.edu

Establishing a US central bank digital currency: The right time or too risky? - Harvard Law School

Former Deputy Treasury Secretary Daleep Singh and Federal Reserve Board Member Chistopher Waller debate whether to create a U.S. central bank digital currency.
hls.harvard.edu hls.harvard.edu
 
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