On 21 February 2020, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) jointly with USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in cooperation with the World Bank will hold an international conference: Central Bank Digital Currencies: New Payment Opportunities.
The event will focus on discussing approaches to introducing central bank digital currency (CBDC), the latest research in the area and pilot projects on issuing such currency in different countries.
Digital currencies have picked up a quick pace over the recent years. Digital currencies employ different models of issue and circulation, as well as multitude of technologies and jurisdictions. In this context, multiple central banks are researching the possibility of issuing proprietary digital currency and means to use it, which include the NBU. Although CBDC types and technologies vary depending on customer needs, specifics of the payment infrastructure, and growth rates of the national financial sectors, however in all cases digital currency is regarded as a new and evolutionary type of central bank money.
The Conference will provide a platform for central banks’ representatives and stakeholders, specialists and researchers from all over the world, participants of the Ukrainian payment market to share knowledge and experience on possible introduction of CBDC and its place in the financial ecosystem.
At present, the NBU, same as global economic experts, faces many questions as to the digital currency field.
- What are the opportunities, potential, and prospects of introducing CBDC?
- How could the financial ecosystem change with the introduction of CBDC?
- What business models of CBDC can be utilized? What are the benefits and weaknesses of such models?
- What are the global trends of introduction and regulation of CBDC?
Experts of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, central banks of Japan, the South African Republic, Uruguay, Finland, Lithuania, Canada, Ukraine, and Sweden, and representatives of the financial market will discuss these and other issues at the Conference.
Please find the event’s agenda here.
Preliminary registration for the Conference is mandatory. The registration form is available until 18 February 2020 on the Conference website. The registration is valid, if the participant receives a confirmation from the organizer. Considering the limited number of participants, the organizer reserves the right to decline registration.
For reference:
In line with the global innovative developments in the payment sector, in 2016, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) launched a pilot on issuing proprietary digital currency, E-Hryvnia. During the pilot, the blockchain platform was tested for issuing CBDC as an instrument for retail payments, international experience and approaches to CBDC were examined, the macroeconomic effect was analyzed, and design of the best suited business model was initiated.