Timelines accelerated as 10 CBDCs to be live by end-2023 predicts Omdia

LONDON, 16 June, 2022 – Despite the volatility of private cryptocurrencies, governments worldwide are committed to issuing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDC), with more than 80% of the world’s central banks already considering launching one. However, according to a newly released report from Omdia, collaboration with the private sector is key as central banks must co-operate with commercial banks and software vendors and agree common standards to ensure the success and mass adoption of CBDCs globally.

“Central bank digital currencies are a natural evolution of the money system, and there is already a lot of enthusiasm from private banks, merchants, and consumers to embrace cryptocurrencies,” said Philip Benton, Senior Analyst, Financial Services at Omdia, “In order for CBDCs to be successful they must have interoperability at their core while functioning in both online and offline environments”.

The adoption of alternative payments such as crypto is of increasing importance to payment issuing and acquiring banks as well, according to Omdia’s IT Enterprise Insights Survey 2021/22, an annual study of more than 7,000 institutions that identifies their key technology priorities.  The survey highlighted that 67% of merchants globally are already interested in accepting cryptocurrency as a payment method.

Central bank digital currencies can be issued in two forms, either directly through bank accounts or tokenized through a digital wallet. The digital wallet is a prime vehicle for distributing CBDC because it is already the world’s leading payment method for both e-commerce and point-of-sale transactions. Issuance as a token via a digital wallet would operate much like existing private cryptocurrency transactions, ensuring anonymity, and could be adopted by the unbanked population.

Based on a survey of more than 7,000 institutions representing every global region, “Market Landscape: Central Bank Digital Currencies”, examines the state of market maturity. The report provides:

• An overview of the current state of CBDC market developments and the differing regulatory approaches taken by sovereign governments
• Insights into key success factors for CBDC to become widely adopted on a global basis