Key highlights:
- The Bank of England is exploring the creation of a digital currency
- BoE governor Andrew Bailey says a central bank digital currency could have huge implications for society
- Digital currency in a central bank should be considered and planned well
On Monday, the governor of the Bank of England discussed the possibility of having a digital currency for the U.K. central bank.
Digital currency for Britain’s central bank
As reported by Bloomberg, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey was heard mentioning the bank’s interest in issuing a central bank digital currency or CBDC during a student webinar.
“We are looking at the question of, should we create a Bank of England digital currency. We’ll go on looking at it, as it does have huge implications on the nature of payments and society. I think in a few years time, we will be heading toward some sort of digital currency,” Bailey said
Digital currency could be an advantage and should be considered
Among the vast number of central banks around the globe, the Bank of England is thus far noted to be considering the action of creating wholly digital versions of home currencies. If the U.K. central bank pursues its plan of developing a digital currency, it could give an advantage to the British pound over the other currencies such as the USD and EUR. As a member of the group of major central banks, the Bank of England is fully considering all areas before implementing the said plan. It may take some time for this development to arise.
Sarah John, the Bank of England’s chief cashier and director of notes mentioned that researching digital currencies is ‘crucial’ for central banks. She also added:
“It is absolutely right that central banks think about whether a public sector or private sector would be best to provide a digital currency going forward.” Central banks are indeed experimenting with digital currencies nowadays. The implementation takes courage and persistence, especially during the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the governor of Bank of England said, “The digital currency issue will be a very big issue. I hope it is, because that means Covid will be behind us.”.
