Bank of England Governor casts doubt on the case for retail CBDC

BOE Governor has cast doubt on the case for a digital pound for consumers, questioning its necessity even as the central bank moves ahead with developing a wholesale version for use between financial institutions.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has expressed doubts about the need for a digital pound for everyday consumers, as initially reported by Bloomberg. Speaking at a conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Bailey acknowledged the potential advantages of CBDCs like smart contracts and improved fraud protection, but questioned whether launching a consumer digital currency is necessary to realize them.

He also said that BOE is “well on the way” to developing a wholesale CBDC designed for use in transactions between financial institutions. He is just not sold on the retail version.

“I start with the presumption that there should be benefit here – it seems like a failure of imagination if we think otherwise,” said Bailey. “That said, I remain to be convinced that we need to create new forms of money – such as Central Bank Retail Digital Currency – to achieve this.”

The BOE’s digital pound project has faced significant public scrutiny, with over 50,000 responses submitted during a consultation launched in 2023. Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said many respondents raised concerns about privacy, the future of cash, and fears the central bank could control how the currency is used.

Additionally, the project has been criticized by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, which highlighted the “significant risks and challenges” involved. In a report published in 2023, the committee stated, “It is not clear to us at this stage whether the benefits are likely to outweigh these risks.”

The BOE is currently in the design phase of its retail central bank digital currency and remains behind other countries in developing one. Together with the UK Treasury, it has not yet decided whether to move forward with creating a digital pound for the public.