Bank of Spain includes CBDC in its priority research agenda

The development and implications of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) have been placed among the Bank of Spain’s priority research areas under its strategic plan for 2020-2024.

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The study of CBDC will become part of one of five major themes devoted to new technologies, including the digital transformation of the financial system.

The Bank of Spain believes that the technologies associated with this process could improve the services provided by the central bank, for example in payments, through the deployment of a digital currency.

The central bank intends to subject not only the CBDC design to in-depth analysis but also the consequences of its issuance, including for:

• monetary policy;
• financial stability;
• banking risks.

Spain is part of the euro area, and earlier the head of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde confirmed, that the regulator is studying the possibility of issuing a digital version of the currency.

In October the ECB, the Bank of England, the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of Japan, as well as the central banks of Sweden and Switzerland, together with the Bank for International Settlements presented a report on the fundamental principles and key characteristics of CBDC. The BIS established a working group in January 2020.

Central banks of several euro area countries conduct independent research in digital currencies, for example, the Netherlands central bank. In France they have already announced the successful testing of a digital euro for interbank payments.

How and why central banks are creating digital currencies (CBDC)

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