BOJ Official Says Digital Currency Needs Public Support First – Bloomberg



Article summary
A Bank of Japan move to launch a digital currency would be conditional on public support, according to a senior BOJ official who says no final decision has been made even after the announcement of testing to start next year. Pocket Money Cash remains the dominant way of payment in Japan Source: Bank for International Settlements Note: Five highest and lowest jurisdictions in bank’s Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, 2018 data Should the BOJ issue a digital unit in the future it would aim to enhance the transaction ecosystem and coexist with cash and other forms of electronic payment, rather than being a tool for monetary policy, Kamiyama added. Kazushige Kamiyama Photographer: Sumio Ito/Bloomberg The comments indicate that while issuance of a central bank digital currency in Japan is not set in stone, the BOJ is keen to deepen its understanding of how one would operate and what conditions need to be met to go ahead with the launch of a CBDC. […] Read More: Digital Yen Is BOJ’s Last Weapon Against Deflation: Ex-Official “We have clearly stated that banknotes and digital currency will coexist,” Kamiyama said. […] Kamiyama said the BOJ needed to keep up to speed with the People’s Bank of China moves to become the first major central bank to issue a digital unit.