Open Banking Expo launches Central Bank Digital Currency virtual event

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have grown in hype over the last 12 months, but what are CBDCs; and why do we need them – or a better question, do we need them at all?  Delve into discussions with both Central Banks and Commercial Banks on 28th April, at the Open Banking Expo CBDC Event.

The interest around CBDCs has come from a number of factors; the launch of Facebook’s Libra (now Diem), the need for improved cross border payments, financial inclusion challenges and finally COVID-19 resulting in a major decline of physical cash.

This one-day event will open with a presentation by the Bank of International Settlements, who have spearheaded CBDC with their launch of the three foundation principles in collaboration with seven Central Banks. They will share insights into Project Helvetia, a successful Wholesale CBDC example of settling tokeninsed assets and Central Bank money.

To fully dive into the possibilities of Wholesale CBDCs, we have gathered an expert panel with HSBC, Payments Canada and The Bank of England. They will discuss key wholesale experiments considering what has worked and what hasn’t; and examine the value proposition of CBDCs to highlight the pain points that could be relieved. Furthermore, they’ll delve into the main concerns of CBDCs; such as the understanding of the technical framework and the need for regulatory and standardisation guidance.

Wholesale CBDCs aren’t the only type that need discussing. Although the exploration of Retail CBDCs has been slower, with the decline of fiat currency; Retail CBDCs have never been more prominent. Join Payments Canada, Deutsche Bank, Sveriges Riksbank and The World Bank to discuss the classification of CBDCs, retail use cases including financial inclusion; and risks including consumer protection, trust and financial stability. This is also a paramount opportunity for an update on e-krona, one of the world’s most advanced Retail CBDCs.

Expert speakers include:

• Oliver Sigrist, Advisor, Bank of International Settlements
• William Lovell, Head of Future Technology, Bank of England
• Johan Schmalholz, Advisor Payment Infrastructure/Senior Economist, Sveriges Riksbank
• James Pomeroy, Global Economist, HSBC
• Cyrielle Chiron, Head – Research and Strategic Foresight, Payments Canada
• Harish Natarajan, Lead – Payment Systems Development Group, The World Bank
• Marion Laboure, Macro Strategist, Deutsche Bank & Harvard Lecturer
• Segun Bewaji, Team Lead – Senior Economist, Payments Canada

The momentum of Central Banks exploring and experimenting with CBDCs is increasing; but we’re still in early stages. Are CBDCs the right and best solution to help the industry overcome challenges on both a retail and wholesale perspective? Would stable coins or other digital currencies provide a similar benefit with less risk? There are so many unknowns, but the conversation is happening and collaboration is vital.

Managing Director of Open Banking Expo, Adam Cox, comments: “We’re delighted to launch this free CBDC event to our portfolio. At our Open Banking Expo Digifest event in November, we saw and understood there was a hype and a need for more conversations surrounding CBDCs. Therefore, we decided this should be an event in its own right. The event will bring together experts from around the globe to share their experiences and discuss how the future of money and payments is changing. With CBDCs gaining more traction; there are brilliant use cases to discuss; but still much uncertainty, we aim to gather this information together in one place to provide a platform for industry collaboration. I hope to see you virtually in April.”