With the recent rising attention to Central Bank’s Digital Currencies in several countries, the SWIFT financial services provider has confirmed to be testing CBDC-related cross-border transactions.
The report further states that those banks currently testing CBDCs account for 90% of the overall global GDP. Quite a number of them are in late phases of testing, with 9 countries already using their digital currencies, such as Nigeria or The Bahamas.
While the overall focus is currently highlighting the use of CBDCs within the particular countries, Thomas Zschach, Chief Innovation Officer at SWIFT thinks that it is also important not to forget about their cross-border use. He stated:
“Facilitating interoperability and interlinking between different CBDCs being developed around the world will be critical if we are to fully realize their potential. Today, the global CBDC ecosystem risks becoming fragmented with numerous central banks developing their own digital currencies based on different technologies, standards, and protocols.”
Nick Kerigan, Head of Innovation at SWIFT has also compared closed CBDC economies to “digital islands,” unless a unified cross-country system is adopted. It seems that this is exactly what the financial services provider is trying to achieve with their tests.
