Aussies crowdsource a business case for central bank digital currencies
Tests will be run in a"ring-fenced" environment and the project will wrap up within a year. A report on those efforts"will contribute to ongoing research into the desirability and feasibility of a CBDC in Australia."
The project is noteworthy because the RBA directed the creation of Australia's New Payments Platform , which enables real-time payments between account holders of licensed financial institutions. The NPP requires the involvement of institutions, but works as quickly and efficiently as exchanging cash because users can identify their bank accounts with an email address or mobile phone number instead of having to memorize and recite account numbers.
Australia's approach is a little different to other nations that are contemplating a CBDC. The UK's effort to create"Britcoin" is focused on design, while India sees its digital rupee as a means of managing the risks of unregulated cryptocurrency. China, meanwhile, already has a working Digital Yuan and has made it available to hundreds of millions of consumers, without seemingly making much of a dent in enthusiasm for entrenched e-payment schemes offered by its tech giants.