CBDC Pilot: Launch

March 2023

The Reserve Bank is collaborating with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) on a research project to explore use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Australia. A White Paper released on 26 September outlined the objectives and approach of the project in more detail, inviting industry participants to submit use cases that leverage CBDC, for potential implementation in a pilot CBDC transactional trial to be run in the first half of 2023.

Use Cases selected for Transactional Pilot

Industry interest in the project has been strong, with more than 140 use case submissions received by 31 October 2022.

The submissions included a number of use cases that are high-level or conceptual in nature, which are not being proposed for near-term implementation in the transactional pilot. These submissions are valuable inputs to the broader CBDC research project, which is focusing on the financial or payment services that might become feasible if a CBDC was introduced in Australia. In turn, this will assist considerations about the potential economic benefits and design of a CBDC.

A number of use cases have been selected for participation in the pilot, subject to compliance with regulatory requirements by 31 March 2023.

For details visit: Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre/CBDC.