The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced on March 3 that it had chosen 14 proposed digital currency use cases from a large pool of submissions from industry players. Brad Jones, Assistant Governor at the RBA, noted the favourable composition of providers approved by the central bank, which is a positive development. These providers have been invited to take part in a live trial.
Collaboration Between Industry and Central Bank
According to a statement issued by the Australian central bank, which has been investigating the potential of central bank digital currency (CBDC), it revealed the use cases chosen as well as the names of providers invited to participate in the live pilot. A huge number of submissions were made by industry participants, which the RBA was pleased with.
Brad Jones lauded the enthusiasm of the industry for the project, noting:
We are delighted by the industry’s excitement for this important research project. It is also encouraging to see that the use-case providers who were invited to take part in the pilot represent a wide range of entities from the Australian financial system, from small fintechs to large financial institutions.
The assistant governor added that the pilot is set to achieve two objectives. Firstly, it will provide industry players with some recognition. Secondly, it will give policymakers a “hands-on” learning experience and help them to better comprehend how CBDC could be beneficial to the economy and the Australian financial system.
CBDC Design Factors
Dilip Rao, Director of the CBDC Program at the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC), mentioned that the process of validating use cases is essential and that engaging with regulators and industry participants is necessary to ensure the best possible outcome. He said this will be used to inform further research into design features for a possible CBDC.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has recently unveiled its proposed use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a statement. The document mentions that a CBDC could be used for offline payments, corporate bond payments, and other tokenised economy services.
The statement lists 14 use cases and more than eight providers that the RBA has selected for its research. The bank wishes to explore the potential of a CBDC and how it might benefit the Australian economy.
The RBA has also highlighted the potential for the CBDC to be used for other services such as making payments, transferring money, and exchanging digital assets. The bank is currently in the process of gathering feedback from the public and other stakeholders, which will help inform the CBDC development process.
Commenting on the project, RBA Deputy Governor, Guy Debelle, said, “We are interested in exploring the possible applications of
