The Bank of England and HM Treasury have today announced the joint creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Taskforce to coordinate the exploration of a potential UK CBDC.
A CBDC would be a new form of digital money issued by the Bank of England and for use by households and businesses. It would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them.
The Government and the Bank of England have not yet made a decision on whether to introduce a CBDC in the UK— they "will engage widely with stakeholders on the benefits, risks and practicalities of doing so".
The Taskforce "aims to ensure a strategic approach is adopted between the UK authorities as they explore CBDC, in line with their statutory objectives, and to promote close coordination between them".
The Taskforce will:
Coordinate exploration of the objectives, use cases, opportunities and risks of a potential UK CBDC.
Guide evaluation of the design features a CBDC must display to achieve our goals.
Support a rigorous, coherent and comprehensive assessment of the overall case for a UK CBDC.
Monitor international CBDC developments to ensure the UK remains at the forefront of global innovation.
The Taskforce will be co-chaired by Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England, Jon Cunliffe, and HM Treasury’s Director General of Financial Services, Katharine Braddick. As appropriate other UK authorities will be involved in the Taskforce.