Bank Of Canada Shifts Focus From Retail CBDC To Broader Payments Research

According to Cointelegraph, the Bank of Canada is winding down its work on retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) and shifting its focus to broader payments system research and policy development. The central bank's website update emphasized that while research on retail CBDC is being scaled down, work on wholesale CBDC continues. The Bank of Canada has conducted extensive research on CBDC, but it is now prioritizing other pressing issues. The bank had previously maintained that a contingency plan for CBDC was necessary in case it became essential. However, with other payment issues gaining prominence, the bank is reallocating its resources. Payments Canada, the association responsible for the country's payment clearing and settlement system, continues to develop the Real-time Rail instant payment system. This association includes over 100 members, such as the Bank of Canada. Additionally, the Bank of Canada is preparing to enhance its supervision of retail payments under the Retail Payment Activities Act of 2021. This act requires the central bank to begin registering 2,500 small payment service providers in November and enforce operational risk standards by 2025. The Bank of Canada has collaborated with the Bank for International Settlements and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Labs’ Digital Currency Initiative in its CBDC research. Despite the shift in focus, the bank acknowledges that its research will be invaluable if Canadians, through their elected representatives, decide they want or need a digital Canadian dollar in the future.