The head of the Bank of England sees no need for a digital pound

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Governor of the Bank of England (BoE) Andrew Bailey believes that before developing a digital pound, it is necessary to understand what problems it will solve.

Andrew Bailey stated thatis skeptical about continuing development of a digital pound after European finance ministers backed further work on a digital euro. According to Bailey, they already have an effective wholesale cash settlement system, which is constantly being updated.

Yesterday, European finance ministersissued a statement saying that work on a digital euro is ongoing, noting that the development will require further discussion at the political level. In addition, they will have to figure out how this will affect the environment and financial stability.

The head of the Bank of England said that they are notplan to abolish cash in retail trade. For now, retail payments should remain in their current state. According to Bailey, the main thing missing in the development of a digital pound is a clear understanding of the goal and what problem needs to be solved using this technology.

“So I think the question of whether we need a central bank digital currency remains an open question until the purpose is clearly defined,” Bailey says.

Previously, former Bank of England senior adviser Tony Yates said that states should not create central bank digital currencies just to compete with cryptocurrencies.