On Thursday, SWIFT announced that their project to connect central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), provides “clear potential and value.”
Banks like French Central Bank (CB), Singapore’s CB, U.K.’s Standard Chartered, Italy’s Intese Sanpaolo as well as another French bank — BNP Paribas, cooperate with the SWIF’'s project. The project will now move on to the second phase — testing and evaluation of applications.
Global head of domestic and emerging payments at HABC, Lewis Sun said:
“While interest in CBDCs is growing, so is the risk of fragmentation as a widening range of technologies and standards is being experimented with,” adding that the project could lead to "faster, cheaper and more secure cross-border payments.”
Multiple countries like Nigeria and the Bahamas have already adopted cryptocurrencies, as well as the digital version of their national currencies. Unlike them, countries such as the U.K. and members of the European Union are exploring the possibility of adoption, and what its impact will be.
The International Monetary Fund as well as Bank for International Settlements have already asked central banks for cooperation in their work, while a way to cut down the cost and time of making international payments is on the search by regulators.
