CBDC: Opportunities and challenges for banks

A large number of central banks are conducting research on CBDC either as POCs or desktop studies. Dialogue between central bank and financial industry implies, however, prospective roles of banks remain uncertain. For example, potential expansion of eligibility as intermediary of CBDC could present new conditions of competition among broad-range of financial service providers. Nevertheless, central banks maintain confidence in banks as core of settlement systems. Another important challenge for banks includes taking a delicate balance between utilization of settlement data for financial services on the one hand, and proper protection of privacy of users on the other hand. Related issues would be prospects of enhanced efficiency of CBDC for satisfying requirements of AML/CFT which have become heavy burdens for banks. Last but not in the least, implications of CBDC for cross-border payments could be substantial for existing correspondent banking systems.

Discussion in this session will explore viable business models of banks in financial ecosystems with CBDC.