- CBDCs are digital versions of national currencies issued and regulated by central banks. By eliminating
- intermediaries, CBDCs boost monetary policy efficiency and make international payments seamless.
The emergence of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) is revolutionizing the international financial landscape. They are central bank-issued digital currencies designed to advance payments. Also, it enhances financial inclusion and counters the development of decentralized cryptocurrencies.
As countries test or introduce CBDCs, their implications on world economies, monetary policy, and financial systems receive widespread interest.
What Are CBDCs?
CBDCs are digital forms of fiat money issued and guaranteed by central banks. CBDCs, unlike decentralized currencies such as Bitcoin, are stable, state-governed, and government-issued. They are legal tender for interbank settlements, digital payments, and day-to-day transactions.
Core Features of CBDC:
Centralized Control: These are issued and supervised by central banks, unlike cryptocurrencies.
Legal Tender: They are equivalent in value to deposits and physical cash.
Programmability: Smart contract functionality can be enabled by governments for regulatory reasons.
Interoperability: Built to interconnect with current money infrastructures.
Types of CBDCs
CBDCs are broadly categorised into two types based on their purposes:
1. Retail CBDCs
Retail CBDCs provide normal citizens and firms with a new way to pay, digital, and in a direct linkage with their central bank country of origin. They are designed to make more access to financial services possible and to reduce the utility of cash. Examples include China’s Digital Yuan (e-CNY) and Nigeria’s eNaira.
2. Wholesale CBDCs
These projects are mainly aimed at improving interbank networks and banking operations by speeding up settlements and reducing transaction costs. For example, Singapore’s Project Ubin—and its collaboration with Canada, known as Jasper-Ubin—explores how wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can be used to make cross-border payments more efficient.
The Emergence of CBDCs
CBDCs have been discussed for years, but digital payments have finally pushed them closer to reality. With the reduction of cash usage and the growth of cryptocurrency, concern about losing control of money has been aggravated, generating interest in state-backed digital currencies.
Decline in Cash Usage: Since more people are using digital payment means, the use of physical money has been on the decline.
Growth of Cryptocurrencies and Stablecoins: Private cryptocurrencies have compelled governments to create state-backed alternatives.
Financial Inclusion: CBDCs can extend banking facilities to unbanked communities in emerging economies.
Cross-Border Payment Efficiency: CBDCs aim to expedite international payments, be reasonable, and be secure.
Pandemic-Driven Digitalization: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the move toward digital and contactless payments as individuals shifted toward safer and more convenient means of transacting.
Government and Digital Currencies
There are numerous reasons to enter digital currency, and the readiness of various countries to launch CBDCs varies depending on their economic condition.
The following are a few of the typical incentives: ensuring financial inclusion through providing simple and more secure access to money for the unbanked and underbanked populace; generating competition and resilience in the local payment market, which would be achieved through incentivizing money to become cheaper and better to access; streamlining payments and lowering transactional expenses; building programmable money and increasing money movement transparency; and facilitating the smooth and seamless transmission of monetary and fiscal policy.
Launched CBDCs
- The Bahamas (Sand Dollar): Rolled out in 2020, the first to launch a national CBDC.
- Nigeria (eNaira): Launched in 2020 as the first CBDC of Africa.
- Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (DCash): Rolled out in March 2021 to member states, the first CBDC for a currency union.
- Jamaica (JamDex): Introduced JamDex in 2022 as its official digital currency.
Countries in Pilot or Development Phases
China (Digital Renminbi): The Digital Renminbi has been being developed, and it is being piloted by the People’s Bank of China in several cities.
India (Digital Rupee or e₹): Reserve Bank of India launched a pilot for the e-rupee in December 2022 in a pilot across banks. As of April 2024, the pilot grew to encompass payment companies. Interestingly, fintech company Cred was the first platform to make access to the e-rupee available in January 2025.
Russia (Digital Ruble): The Bank of Russia has been testing the Digital Ruble with plans for wide scale adoption by July 2025. The central bank is counting on the big banks, including Raiffeisen Bank International and UniCredit’s local subsidiaries, to join the rollout.
Sweden (e-krona): Began testing the e-krona in 2017 following the decline in the use of cash.
Brazil: Developing a CBDC now in partnership with over 40 local banks and foreign tech companies.
Other Nations Experimenting with CBDCs
United States: Now considering a CBDC. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in a February 2025 statement, stated that the central bank would not issue its digital currency before his term, which runs until May 2026, comes to an end.
Euro Area: The ECB continues to balance the benefits of a digital euro with skepticism over its value. The project remains in exploratory stages, with public consultations continuing as officials continue gathering information and opinions from throughout the euro area.
CBDC innovations
Over 130 countries have 2024 examined CBDCs or have launched pilot projects.
The main developments are below:
Launch of China’s Digital Yuan: The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) launched e-CNY pilot programs across various regions. It is interoperable with mainstream payment applications such as Alipay and WeChat Pay.
European Central Bank (ECB) Digital Euro Initiative: The ECB is exploring and piloting a possible Digital Euro.
U.S. Digital Dollar: The U.S. Federal Reserve has contemplated a CBDC for America but has so far not acted upon it. Privacy and centralization issues have slowed the development of such a system.
India’s Digital Rupee: The Reserve Bank of India is launching pilot projects to test the acceptability of CBDCs in wholesale and retail markets.
Project mBridge: A joint project between China, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the UAE aims to enhance cross-border CBDC transactions.
In addition, President Donald Trump will be banning the issuance of a U.S. Central Bank digital currency (CBDC) by signing an order. This follows his campaign pledge to stop government-controlled money.
The directive evokes such issues as risk to privacy, sovereignty, and risk to financial stability in integrating CBDC. It instead supports a stronger and privately financed digital asset economy with a laser focus on dollar-backed stablecoins.
Implications of CBDCs
There are many benefits of CBDC, but some challenges are still there to be solved.
1. Financial Stability
CBDCs have the potential to make monetary policy more effective. They are able to disrupt the old banking channel. If citizens deposit their money in central bank wallets, the commercial banks will suffer from liquidity deficiencies, and it will impact their lending ability.
2. Privacy and Surveillance
It would greatly erode surveillance and financial privacy if governments monitor all CBDC transactions.
3. Cross-Border Transactions
CBDCs can be used to reduce dependence on intermediate systems like SWIFT for cross border payments. Geopolitical complexities and regulatory frameworks still drive the way a global system is constructed.
4. Cybersecurity Risks
Because CBDCs exist as digital currencies they become susceptible to cybercrime hacking. Central banks and others must include stronger security measures in place to prevent fraud and hacking.
5. Monetary Policy Impact
CBDCs give central banks direct access to money supply and interest rates. That probably makes monetary policy more effective. Mismanagement will result in inflation or economic crisis.
The Future of CBDCs
The future of CBDCs rests on technological developments, regulatory support, and public interest. Though most countries are in the study phase, the speed indicates that CBDCs will be an important force in developing the next generation of digital finance.
Collaboration Among Nations: It is important to harmonize and align CBDC cross-border transaction parameters
Integration with Current Financial Systems: Banks, fintech companies, and payment organizations must link up with CBDC systems to guarantee alignment with current financial infrastructure.
Harmonizing Innovation with Privacy: The Sustainable equilibrium between innovation and privacy.
