Sweden’s central bank selects participant for CBDC experiment

The Riksbank will test the national digital currency (CBDC) in cooperation with one of the country’s largest banking firms, Handelsbanken. This is stated in the regulator’s press release.

The experiment, involving a non-participating actor, will assess integration between existing systems and the technical platform for the CBDC.

“Thus, the pilot project of the e-krona moves from simple modelling to collaboration with external participants in a test environment,” the Riksbank said.

The plans to issue a national digital currency were first announced in 2016.

In 2019 the central bank signed a partnership agreement with consulting firm Accenture. In February 2020 the parties began testing the e-krona.

In the same year the Swedish government announced plans to make a decision on issuing the CBDC within two years.

Earlier in April 2021, the Riksbank announced the completion of the first phase of pilot tests of the national digital currency.