Bank for International Settlements to Issue a PoC CBDC With the Swiss Central Bank Before the End of 2020

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is reportedly set to issue a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) at the Proof of Concept (PoC)stage in conjunction with the Swiss National Bank. As reported by the Chinese media outlet The Paper, Benoît Cœuré, head of the Innovation Center of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), revealed this plan at the second Bund Summit and noted that the PoC is set to go live by before the end of this year.

The race to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency has taken the center stage for at least 80% of the Central Banks aligned with the BIS and in addition to its collaborative plans with the Swiss National Bank, the BIS also intends to establish a cross border use of CBDCs with such central banks including The Bank of Thailand and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority of China to mention a few. 

As Cœuré noted, the co-launch of the PoC with the Swiss National Bank will make room for additional experiments to explore the use of a Central Bank Digital Currency in a commercial or retail setting, compliance monitoring as well as digital identity tracking.

How receptive can Switzerland be to this collaboration?

Besides Switzerland housing the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), the country has been receptive to several blockchains and cryptocurrency innovations from time. One such reception is in the country serving as the base of the Libra Association whose stablecoin proposal has met with stiff resistance from several world powers including the United States of America.

Switzerland is also working to reform its current laws in order to validate digital assets and cryptocurrencies all in a bid to drive innovation. The country’s diverse reception to digital currencies and blockchain innovations makes it a suitable partner is chosen by the BIS to trial the proposed CBDC PoC.