Bank of France Deputy Governor Denis Beau, at the Paris Blockchain Summit, spoke about the progress being made towards the launch of France CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency).
The deputy governor in his address spoke on necessary regulatory changes and legal framework of the set to be released digital currency. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has been the talk in many countries in recent years.
The digital currency from all the indications looks like it would be a success as it sets to launch in China next year (2021).
However, several other countries, Canada, the United States, Russia looking to come-up with a CBDC are still in the early stages of executing their digital currency.
France CBDC, is also being worked on. Towards perfecting the process, the Bank of France has worked with Societe Generale to test digital transactions, tokenization of securities, and settlement of transactions on the private blockchain.
Currently, they are analyzing whether tokenization can help with cross-border payments which Beau describes as being costly, incur long delays before settlement and give rise to uncertainties on Anti-Money laundering checks.
What next for France CBDC launch
Beau in his address at the Blockchain summit stated that there are going to be eight CBDC experiments before the next steps towards a France CBDC launch would be determined.
According to Beau, the tests would help them investigate not only the potential of technology but also to question the players in the ecosystem on what tomorrow’s landscape could look like.
The experiments would also help the bank find out how improvements can be made to executing cross-border payments or new ways of making CBDCs available to financial sector players. Beau also noted that they would be able to understand if the regulatory framework currently in force needs to be adapted since these experiments would be within the current legal framework.
Europe and CBDC
The European Central Bank like other countries have been working towards creating a digital euro.
ECB President Christine Lagarde addressed the competition to dominate payments on a global scale and considerations for a euro-zone retail CBDC.
France has been against the idea of a private firm like Facebook to launch a digital currency that would compete with their local currency.
