The Reserve Bank of New Zealand declared that a CBDC could be a “solution” to the constant decrease in cash use and that it plans to analyze the idea and open up public consultations on it.
The bank plans to release a set of “money and cash issues papers for feedback from August to November,” which is built upon the “Future of Cash” consultations from 2019.
The plan is to “introduce and seek feedback” on crypto-focused papers that will analyze the idea of a CBDC working “alongside cash as government-backed money.”
The bank is ready to embrace the idea of a CBDC, but it has mentioned it does so with caution.
Christian Hawkesby, the Assistant Governor, declared: “The potential for a Central Bank Digital Currency to help address some of the downsides of reducing physical cash use and services is something we want to explore for New Zealand.”
He also added: “A CBDC, similar to digital cash, might well be part of the solution, but we need to test our assessment of the issues and proposed approach before developing any firm proposals. We also know that digital forms of payment are the preferred way of paying for the majority of us and that the future will undoubtedly involve less cash.”