Swiss national bank wants to introduce CBDC for wholesale business

Around the world, 130 countries are researching and developing their own CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). Now Switzerland is also venturing into digital currency.

According to a report from Reuters, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is planning to issue a wholesale digital banking currency (CBDC). According to the report, SNB head Thomas Jordan announced this on June 26 at the Point Zero Forum conference in Zurich.

As part of a pilot project, the digital money will be issued on the Swiss digital exchange SIX. Jordan stressed, however, that the project is "not just an experiment." "It will be real money, equivalent to bank reserves, and the goal is to test real transactions with market participants," Jordan informed. To that, he added, it is a wholesale ("wholesale") CBDC. This type of digital central bank money is intended for trading between commercial banks or other financial institutions.

SNB proceeds with caution

The SNB does not consider a CBDC for retail and retail customers impossible in the future, but is cautious. "We are not ruling out never introducing CBDCs in retail, but we are still a bit cautious at this time," Jordan said, according to the report.

An exact date for the start of the testing phase has not yet been set. Reuters quoted the bank president as saying the project would begin "soon." Meanwhile, the global development of CBDCs continues.