Central bank to test retail digital currency next year

Summary

• The new digital currency will be used as an alternative payment option, and we will be slowly rolled into selected products and services to test before large-scale distribution. 

The Bank of Thailand seeks to evaluate its commercial digital currency as an extra payment method for the public. The findings of the study, as well as the input received from the questionnaire, have been used to establish guidelines for the implementation and testing of Retail CBDC in a real-world setting.

The retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) will have no impact on the system’s monetary and fiscal policy or supply of traditional money. The pilot study would examine the CBDC’s use within money operations on a small scale, such as receiving, exchanging, and purchasing for products and services.

The Bank of Thailand anticipates that interest for the CBDC will slowly rise and that it may transform to an alternative form of payment, partly replacing cash and digital money. According to the central bank, the findings and consequences of the study will be evaluated to guarantee that the CBDC is advantageous to everybody and does not jeopardize the stability of the financial and economic system in the future.

• Read more: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2167879/central-bank-to-test-retail-digital-currency-next-year