Australia’s central bank launches 3-year program for wholesale CBDC

RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones said the potential benefits of a retail CBDC in Australia appear modest or uncertain at present.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says it won’t be pursuing a retail CBDC anytime soon, instead focusing its efforts on launching a wholesale CBDC. 

In a Sept.18 speech at the Intersekt Fintech Conference in Melbourne, RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones presented the Australian central bank’s three-year roadmap, which focuses largely on the development of a wholesale CBDC.

Jones said the RBA’s research had found a retail CBDC offered little in the way of genuine innovation for public use in Australia, whereas a wholesale CBDC would offer several key advantages to commercial and central banks.

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RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones said the potential benefits of a retail CBDC in Australia appear modest or uncertain at present.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says it won’t be pursuing a retail CBDC anytime soon, instead focusing its efforts on launching a wholesale CBDC. In a Sept.18 speech at the Intersekt Fintech Conference in Melbourne, RBA Assistant Governor Brad Jones presented the Australian central bank’s three-year roadmap, which focuses largely on the development of a wholesale CBDC.Jones said the RBA’s research had found a retail CBDC offered little in the way of genuine innovation for public use in Australia, whereas a wholesale CBDC would offer several key advantages to commercial and central banks. Read more