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The Whitechapel Think Tank’s (WTT) Future of Payments Working Group today launched a white paper entitled The Impact of Digital Currency on the Future of Payments exploring practical impacts and potential to transform the UK’s economy, society and industry. The thought leadership seeks to stimulate and advance debate around the growing landscape of digital currencies and the case for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the UK.
Adoption of digital currency as a means of payment is rapidly accelerating, as new forms of digital currency enter the landscape. The advent of global stablecoins, such as Facebook’s Libra, has further incentivised the introduction of CBDC as both a move to protect the integrity of the national economy and a strategic one which has the potential to fundamentally change the face of fiscal policy as well as underlying payment mechanisms.
Jeremy Wilson, Chairman of WTT and previously Vice Chairman, Corporate Banking at Barclays explained “The Whitechapel Think Tank was set up to accelerate the UK’s leading role in the financial services sector by directly supporting stakeholders in the new technologies, including blockchain and distributed ledgers, across both public and private sectors. WTT Members include global financial institutions and seed-stage start-ups through to investors, professional services firms, regulators government departments, and academia.”
Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation said: “In a world of data and digitisation, it is crucial that we do not stand still. We must keep looking for innovative and creative solutions which will allow the UK to maintain its status as world leader in the financial and professional sectors. This is why we are delighted to support the Whitechapel Think Tank team in producing this thought-provoking white paper and we look forward to the industry’s response and the next stage of this unique development.”
The paper is the first of its kind to bring together subject matter experts across different disciplines, in understanding the benefits, uses cases, impacts and digital transformation possibilities opened up by the introduction of a UK retail CBDC and addresses the following:
- Money, Digital Currency and their Social and Economic Roles
- The Case for a UK Central Bank Digital Currency
- Requirements Underpinning a UK CBDC
- Design and Architectural Considerations for a UK CBDC
- The Impact of a CBDC on the UK’s Payments Infrastructure
- The Road to Adoption of a CBDC
- Recommendations for a Well-Designed Digital Pound
The Whitechapel Think Tank in cooperation with the City of London will holding a webinar discussing the paper and its findings. Please register your interest here if you would like to join us.
