Sweden tests central bank digital currency

Sweden's central bank Riksbank begins testing electronic krone, moving closer to creating the world's first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The pilot program will last forone year, until February 2021. Riksbank reports that when the electronic krona goes into circulation, it will be used to conduct daily banking operations, pay for goods, payments, deposits and withdraw funds from a digital wallet.

The Riksbank statement says:

The goal of the project is to show how electronic krone can be used by the general public.

Sweden announced its readiness to launch the e-krona pilot project at the end of last year after signing an agreement with Accenture consulting company to supply the necessary technologies.

Then the French Central Bank announced the start of testing its digital currency (CBDC).

In January, the central banks of Great Britain, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland joined forces to assess the feasibility of issuing CBDC.

Sharp reduction in the use of cash andcompetition with alternative currencies such as Libra Facebook has prompted central banks around the world to consider issuing their own electronic currencies.