SWIFT Reports CBDC Pilots Underway with Three Central Banks
Three central banks have initiated pilot programs for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), as reported by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).
SWIFT is advancing its work on CBDC interoperability, and these pilots involve beta-testing systems that interlink CBDCs with 30 financial institutions exploring various use cases. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the National Bank of Kazakhstan have already begun integrating the new solution with their infrastructures for direct testing, with a third central bank involved, although unnamed in SWIFT’s announcement. SWIFT’s Chief Innovation Officer, Tom Zschach, underscores the importance of ensuring CBDCs coexist seamlessly and securely.
Given the potential fragmentation of CBDCs across nearly 130 countries, SWIFT prioritizes interoperability solutions to bridge these digital currencies and enable scalability within the financial ecosystem. SWIFT’s connector technology has already demonstrated the ability to facilitate seamless transactions between different blockchain-based CBDC systems, even with varying frameworks, contributing to its innovation agenda focused on CBDC interoperability.
Clever Robot News Desk 18th September 2023
