European Central Bank’s Digital Euro Initiative: A €1.1 Billion Opportunity for Vendors
The European Central Bank (ECB) recently announced a call for vendors to provide services and components for the prospective digital euro, with potential contracts totaling over €1 billion. This initiative follows the ECB’s transition from the investigation to the preparation phase of the digital euro project, which began in October. However, a final decision on […]
Brazil’s CBDC Pilot Phase Attracts Nubank, Microsoft, Visa, and SETL Among Leading Participants
In a significant development, Brazil’s central bank has unveiled its selection of 16 proposals to participate in the pilot phase of the Drex CBDC project. This notable roster of participants includes prominent names such as Nubank, Microsoft, Visa, and SETL. Brazil has been diligently advancing its digital real initiative over the course of several years, […]
Italian banks launch CBDC pilot project
Source: Finextra The Bank of Italy has launched a pilot to assess the viability of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The pilot, called Project Leonidas, also involves a 18 Italian commercial banks and the Associazione Bancaria Italiana (ABI). The stated objective of the pilot is to “explore blockchain applications that promote financial stability and […]
Hong Kong to run e-HK CBDC trials with 16 firms
Source: Finextra The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has selected 16 firms to participate in trials of an e-HK CBDC pilot programme. The central bank committed to exploring further the potential for a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) in September, after a positive response to consultations scoping out the technical and policy perspectives. The first round of […]
Payments Canada Summit: Ghana’s eCedi pilot
Source: Finextra In 2022 Ghana began piloting a retail central bank digital currency, exploring both an online and an offline version of the so-called eCedi. The Bank of Ghana’s Maxwell Opoku-Afari ran through the findings at last week’s Payments Canada Summit. Ghana has been aggressively pursuing a financial sector digitisation programme for several years as […]
SocGen digital asset unit launches EUR stablecoin
Source: Finextra SG-Forge, the digital asset division of French bank Societe Generale, has launched a euro-denominated stablecoin on the ethereum public blockhain. Dubbed the EUR CoinVertible, the asset is designed to bridge the gap between traditional capital markets and the digital assets ecosystem. The coin could be put to use as a settlement asset for […]
CBDC in the Nordics: What is the status in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland?
Source: Finextra Ahead of NextGen Nordics, which will return to Stockholm on 25 April 2023, Finextra will be publishing a series of ‘sneak peeks’, covering the topics and interviewing the panellists speaking at the event. Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is an exciting area of development from many central banks across the world, particularly in the […]
Universal Digital Payments Network launched at Davos
Source: Finextra A Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN) for stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) was launched at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The network aims to provide interoperability between these digital currencies. UDPN has been in development for the last two years with contributions from GFT, Red Date Technology, TOKO, and […]
Sibos 2022: Gilbert Verdian, Founder and CEO of Quant, joined FinextraTV to discuss digital assets
Gilbert Verdian, Founder and CEO of Quant and Board Director of the Digital Pound Foundation, joined FinextraTV to discuss the traction of digital assets amongst institutions and central banks’ exploration of CBDC use cases.
Behind the Scenes, Hong Kong is Setting the Stage for the Next Fintech Revolution
Original Source: Finextra All around the world, central banks are exploring and experimenting with the potential of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), with around 100 countries having launched projects related to the technology to date. While the technology is still in its infancy, it has the potential to fundamentally alter the global payment landscape and […]