Digital money and digital payments innovations have the potential for improving cross-border payments by reducing costs, enhancing speed, and improving transparency. This note performs an empirical analysis of the potential impact of digital money on the volume and transaction costs of...

Most financial assets are digital today. Tomorrow, they may be tokenized. Tokenization implies recording and transferring assets on a widely shared and trusted digital ledger that can be programmed. Interest in tokenization is strong and experiments abound, but what are the consequences of this...

Policymakers in many countries aim to increase the uptake of retail digital payment systems. This Note examines whether interoperability can help achieve this goal. We provide a conceptual framework that explains how interoperability can support the adoption of digital payments by increasing...

In designing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), it is imperative that central banks carefully consider its legal foundations. As with any form of money, CBDCs require a solid basis under public and private law to provide it with the necessary legal certainty and political support that will...

How should central banks explore tokenized reserves? Central banks are increasingly exploring how to make their reserves available to selected banks using distributed ledger technology, referred to as tokenized reserves. This chapter covers policy objectives for tokenized reserves, operating...

How should the international anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) standards be applied in a retail CBDC (rCBDC) setting? This chapter identifies the main categories and characteristics of rCBDCs that may have financial integrity implications and analyzes the...

What lessons emerge from payment resilience in Fragile and Conflict-affected States (FCS) and how could they be applied to CBDC? This chapter explores how FCS can strengthen the resilience of their payment ecosystems to withstand disruptions arising from conflict, natural disasters, or...

How would CBDC affect competition in the payments market? If introduced, CBDC can serve as a payment instrument, expanding end users’ transaction choices, and as a platform infrastructure, broadening intermediaries’ opportunities to provide and innovate in payment and financial services. The...

What are the selected legal considerations for retail CBDC (rCBDC) and wholesale CBDC (wCBDC)? First, with respect to rCBDC, this chapter discusses the mechanisms through which rCBDC is sanctioned as a currency; the legal basis for its issuance and provision of a payment platform; and the...

This note explores the implementation of central bank digital currencies in environments with limited connectivity, emphasizing the need for offline solutions to enhance financial inclusion. It discusses various scenarios, such as stored-value card systems and device-to-device payment methods,...