Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)
Developing and using CBDCs as a secure and reliable payment instrument
Rewrite the future of money with CBDC issuance and distribution
CBDCs can deliver a more efficient, faster and safer financial system by enhancing and simplifying cross-border payments, interbank payments and securities settlement.
Programmability
Improve the issuance of money by leveraging smart contracts. Programmable money enables the issuer to build rules and regulations into the instrument so that they can be automatically enforced in real time.
Minting
Create highly secure CBDC tokens that are interoperable and capable of integrating to existing systems.
Smart contracts
Monitor money supply in real time and leverage network data to make predictive decisions.
Wholesale payments
A wholesale CBDC can serve as a risk-free settlement cash asset in high-value payments systems and on digital financial markets infrastructures. It can automate processes with smart contract capabilities and direct transit between commercial banks without intermediaries.
Retail payments
A general purpose CBDC for retail applications enables person-to-person transfers with instantaneous settlement. They are particularly valuable for emerging economies as they broaden access to financial services.
Cross-border payments
Settling cross-border payments using CBDCs can avoid delays and costs associated with them being processed through a correspondent banking network.
Primary CBDC distributions
Public and private sector collaboration in action
Projects powered by Corda, the leading permissioned DLT platform for regulated entities, prove that wholesale CBDCs can change the way liquidity is managed, enable faster cross-border payments and facilitate instant international settlement.
Project Icebreaker
BIS Innovation Hub Nordic Centre, Bank of Israel, Norges Bank and Sveriges Riksbank recently completed Project Icebreaker using Corda. The Project tested the technical feasibility of conducting cross-border and cross-currency transactions between different experimental retail CBDC systems.
Project Helvetia
BIS Innovation Hub, SIX and Swiss National Bank completed Phase II of Project Helvetia, which used Corda to demonstrate that tokenized assets can be settled in wholesale CBDC.
Project Dunbar
Brings together the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank Negara Malaysia, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and South African Reserve Bank with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub to test the use of CBDCs for international settlements.
e-Krona Project
R3 partnered with Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, piloting their initiative on Corda to determine whether it is possible to issue a digital complement to cash called e-Krona.
Digital Tenge Pilot
The National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in conjunction with R3 and Accenture, explored the capability and impact of Retail CBDC as a third form of central bank money, alongside cash and central bank reserves. The Digital Tenge Pilot is one of the most comprehensive studies on retail CBDC, with an exploration into offline payments, tokenization of ownership, customized anonymity, and integration with existing systems.
Explore what’s possible with CBDCs
Offline payments
A token-based CBDC or stablecoin can be designed for use in areas with limited internet access to allow people to access a medium of exchange and basic financial services regardless of geolocation.
Liquidity management
Automate a liquidity pool by utilizing smart contracts to improve FX liquidity, act as the intermediary of currency exchange rates, and reduce the number of intermediaries.
Atomic DvP (Delivery versus Payment)
Issuance and redemption of wholesale CBDCs can reduce counterparty liquidity and settlement risk, enable programmable business logic with smart contracts and extend resiliency.
“With the great success of Jura, the wholesale CBDC experiment programme launched by the Banque de France in 2020 is now completed. Jura demonstrates how wholesale CBDC can optimise cross‐currency and cross‐border settlements, which are a key facet of international transactions.
Sylvie Goulard
Deputy Governor, Banque de France
Connect with R3
R3 is here to support you at every stage of your digital currency journey–from experimentation to production. Our Professional Services team offers a variety of standard and custom SaaS offerings to kick start issuance and development.
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