China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) development is in its final stages, according to the former governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), indicating a significant stride towards the country’s digitalization of its financial system.
What Happened: Zhou Xiaochuan, the longest-serving governor of the PBOC, expressed that the development of the CBDC in China is “already on track” and is nearing its end, reported The South China Morning Post. Zhou made this announcement during a conference in Hong Kong, which was organized by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
Zhou, who stepped down from his role at the PBOC in 2018, disclosed that “90% of retail payments in China are already digitalized,” leaving a mere 10% to be transitioned. Upon the completion of the CBDC, the government will have the potential to explore additional features such as cross-border payments and tokenization applications like smart contracts.
The HKMA-BIS High-Level Conference, commemorating the anniversaries of both the HKMA and the BIS representative office for Asia-Pacific, welcomed over 20 incumbent central bank governors and deputy governors, as well as eight former governors. The conference ...