South Korea Advances CBDC And Tokenized Deposit Pilot Program

According to Odaily, the Bank of Korea has recently signed an agreement with the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to test the feasibility of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and tokenized deposits. This initiative follows a September report indicating that the Bank of Korea is preparing to conduct a tokenized deposit trial involving approximately 100,000 participants. The trial, which was officially announced a year ago, aims to integrate wholesale CBDC for interbank settlements. In June, MSIT and the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) allocated a budget to the Bank of Korea for developing a smartphone-based voucher program. These vouchers are intended for purchasing welfare, cultural, educational, and other goods and services. Consequently, the Bank of Korea has developed a digital voucher management platform to address the complexities and fraud risks associated with paper vouchers. The vouchers will utilize Singapore's Purpose-Bound Money (PBM) model, which encapsulates deposit tokens within smart contracts and defines their usage conditions. The FSC has approved seven domestic banks to participate as innovative financial services providers, although their compliance will be continuously monitored. These banks include Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, Hana Bank, Korea Development Bank, NongHyup Bank, and Busan Bank. Notably, the deposit tokens will be protected under the traditional deposit protection system. As of now, the Bank of Korea has not disclosed detailed information regarding user recruitment and the vouchers.