Central bank digital currency : paving the way to a new era in payments

Abstract

Money, as a means of payment, has gone through an evolution process along the years, ranging from bartering, precious coins, money in paper form, to electronic money. The latter, by means of dematerialisation and digitalisation. Through history, one could observe that monetary transformations have been propelled by economic growth, innovative technology, whilst effectively addressing and maintaining the functions of money. The interest towards digital currencies primarily arose out of developments initiated by the 2008 global financial crisis and its need was further highlighted by a surge in crossborder payments, security settlements and electronic collaterals which led to the possible utilisation of distributed ledger technology (DLT). Eventually, technological advancements in DLT and cryptography led to a widespread and higher demand in digital currencies. Innovations and the rapid transformation in the payments and financial system led central banks around the globe to undertake substantial efforts to examine the potential issuance of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). CBDC is a form of fiat currency using modernized technology entailed to offer the unique feature of finality, liquidity and integrity. As the title suggests, this thesis seeks to determine the potential implications resulting from the issuance of the CBDC towards the banking system, the monetary policy, a jurisdiction’s financial stability, and the financial system at large. To this effect, by means of a comparative analysis, this thesis would address the diverse opinions of international market players which embrace vast ideologies on the issuance of this new digital currency. After analysing the benefits and challenges that could develop as a result of such introduction, the final chapter explores how the attractiveness of the CBDC for payment purposes is likely to lead to the next step of a cashless society.