Agenda

DORA is the first sector-specific regulation of ICT security and resilience in Europe. It regulates 20 types of financial entities and their ICT third-party service providers. For the first time, IT service providers are now under financial supervision. For non-European national banks, DORA is an interesting object of study for two reasons: firstly, DORA could experience the same spread as the GDPR in data protection and serve as a model for many countries. Secondly, national banks, in their roles as regulators and supervisors, have to deal with increasing the security of all financial market players worldwide.

Now is the ideal time for central banks to begin prototyping with CBDC. In this academy session, two industry leaders collaborate to share their expertise and field experience. They will cover crucial topics such as offline implementation, the benefits of offering users a wide range of payment device options, the importance of reusing existing terminals and ATMs, and much more.

This presentation will provide a global view of retail CBDC developments. It will start by defining what a retail CBDC is and is not, reviewing which central banks are doing what, why and how. The presentation will cover key design features, and how central banks are trying to navigate often conflicting goals, such as meeting user needs for payments privacy versus complying with financial integrity regulations, and designing retail CBDCs that are attractive to potential users while mitigating bank disintermediation risk. It will conclude with a review of open questions that continue to flummox retail CBDC designers.

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) represent a transformative shift in finance, offering a state-backed digital alternative to cash. This presentation covers the fundamentals of CBDCs, including their definition, purpose | use cases , and underlying technology. It explores trends around the world driving CBDC adoption, such as financial inclusion and enhanced transaction efficiency. Key use cases include cross-border payments, retail transactions, and financial stability. The value of CBDCs lies in their potential to reduce costs, increase transparency, and streamline monetary policy. Let's understand Best practices from global projects and central banks include robust cybersecurity measures, user privacy protection, and interoperability with existing financial systems. For a global audience, understanding CBDCs is crucial as they could reshape financial systems, promote economic resilience, and drive innovation in digital payments.

Offline payments allow users to conduct transactions without a real-time connection to a central server, offering convenience but also introducing unique challenges in terms of security and reliability. Privacy is an area that has not been explored deeply for CBDC systems, yet it is key for public adoption of digital currencies. This CBDC Academy session discusses how to implement offline payments and true privacy. It offers practical advice on building trust that enables secure and reliable offline payments and how to balance the public’s need for privacy with regulatory requirements for transactional traceability.

EMTECH’s Beyond Suite is a comprehensive offering to help Central Banks modernize their infrastructure and manage Digital Currency. Attend this session to hear how EMTECH’s Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions help to easily manage digital currency, regulatory compliance and supervisory tasks. This session will feature a product demo.

This session will cover EMTECH’s SaaS solutions:

• Beyond Cash
• Beyond Sandbox
• Beyond Compliance
• Beyond Supervision

The National Bank of Kazakhstan released the Digital Tenge into limited production in November of 2023 and has been successively rolling out a variety of applications for this new format of central bank money. The Digital Tenge is a general purpose CBDC with applications across a number of consumer, citizen, commercial and cross border applications. In this presentation you will hear more from the team leading this amazing achievement and get an update on the latest developments and plans for the coming years.

In the age of invention, ideas and innovation are crucial for today's wealth of nations—despite the challenges they bring with them. Join us to learn how efficient payment systems can reduce economic friction and accelerate global trade. As economies seek to gain a strategic advantage and citizens worry about their privacy and comfort, what's next?

As we move towards an increasingly digitized world, the role of digital payments continues to surge in importance, transforming financial transactions at an unprecedented pace. However, to truly enhance the effectiveness and convenience of digital payment methods, offline capabilities are essential. A payment solution with offline capabilities can foster digital financial inclusion, increase the resilience of online payment systems, and enhance privacy, universal usage, accessibility, and trust.

As we move towards an increasingly digitized world, the role of digital payments continues to surge in importance, transforming financial transactions at an unprecedented pace. However, to truly enhance the effectiveness and convenience of digital payment methods, offline capabilities are essential. A payment solution with offline capabilities can foster digital financial inclusion, increase the resilience of online payment systems, and enhance privacy, universal usage, accessibility, and trust.

In this exclusive panel, central bank Deputy Governors share their views on CBDCs. Gain unique perspectives on CBDC design, policy considerations, and the role of CBDC in shaping the future financial system. Learn about the challenges, opportunities, and potential implications of CBDCs in the financial sector. Hear from these high-level decision-makers their strategic vision and practical insights that drive the CBDC agenda.

The presentation will provide an overview of the digital euro project, covering aspects such as the motivations behind its potential issuance, its main design features and the latest developments, as well as future steps. The work on wholesale CBDCs will also be addressed, presenting the experiments that the Banco de España and the Eurosystem are carrying out with the aim of assessing their potential to enhance the functioning of financial market infrastructures.

This presentation will provide critical insights into how to ensure effective adoption of CBDC

This speech will provide insights into the transactional and Network analysis of the CBDC paper, as well as the conclusion report of the Retail CBDC Pilot Program of the Bank of Thailand.

Cross-border payments face several key challenges including high degree of frictions such as cost, compliance, security,  delays, and interoperability with domestic payment systems. In this session we will discuss these topics in more depth and demonstrate how nChain’s innovative Digital Currency solution addresses cross-border transactions in a more efficient and effective manner.

The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) has found a balance between being “Solutions Obsessed Versus Problem Obsessed”. During the limited access live environment pilot stage, NBG will “Learn by Doing” and implement a “Bottom-Up” approach while going through the most relevant use cases for the local landscape. NBG’s stakeholder-centric CBDC platform will complement existing payment channels and provide a safe foundation for private sector innovations in order to meet society’s current and future needs.  Moreover, NBG will be on track to support wider trends and new promising innovations by facilitating a new digital form of money to adopt features and instruments aimed to expand functionality and bring increased value for retail users and the private sector.

The presentation will cover general updates on the SandDollar, such as circulation trends, adoption rates and new wallet features.

5 years of digital euro, 5 years of emerging CBDC discussion. In addition to functionality, the role model and the question of acceptance, the geopolitical significance of CBDCs play a decisive role.

Designing a central bank digital currency is unavoidably linked to dilemmas, hard decisions and compromises. A magic triangle exists between privacy, security and user experience, a triangle in which you can not change one without affecting the other two. How much should you (de)centralize, both in terms of component development as well as later while running the system. What is the actual nature of your CBDC – is it digital cash or a special (central bank) account. We will discuss these and other dilemmas based on the experience from digital euro. 

DG Tangonan provides an insight into the work in the CBDC area of the BSP.

This panel will delve into the critical design choices and policy frameworks necessary for the successful implementation of CBDCs. Topics will include technological infrastructure, regulatory considerations, financial stability, and cross-border interoperability. The discussion aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how to navigate the complex landscape of CBDC development to enhance the efficiency, security, and inclusivity of the global financial system.

The implementation of offline payments in retail CBDCs presents both significant challenges and essential benefits.

Challenges include ensuring robust security and privacy in transactions without online verification, which is critical to prevent fraud and unauthorized access. Developing reliable, secure hardware or software solutions that can function without an internet connection is technologically demanding. Additionally, creating a universally accepted offline payment system requires infrastructure upgrades and compatibility across diverse devices and platforms. There's also the issue of maintaining transaction limits and monitoring for compliance with financial regulations, all while offline.

Despite these challenges, the importance of offline payment capabilities in CBDCs cannot be overstated. They enhance financial inclusion by providing access to digital payments in areas with limited internet connectivity, thus reaching underserved populations. Offline functionality also ensures transaction continuity during network outages or in emergencies, supporting resilience in payment systems. Moreover, it offers a level of convenience and privacy for users, promoting broader adoption of CBDCs. Ultimately, developing robust offline payment solutions is vital for a resilient, inclusive, and widely usable CBDC ecosystem.

As for token settlement, SNB is examining how central bank money could be made available in a regulated token ecosystem, should the need for it arise. The presentation will focus on different settlement options. The first model involves synchronised settlement. A link to the RTGS system synchronises the settlement of tokenised securities with the settlement of payments. The second model involves integrated settlement, using a Swiss franc wholesale CBDC.

Retail CBDC systems are challenging to implement in practice. There are many features of cash that are desirable to replicate digitally. This presentation highlights the drawbacks of making pre-mature assumptions on form, such as representing CBDC as a digital banknote and using hardware-based secure elements in mobile devices, as it inevitably leads to limitations on function. A layer-2 solution with trusted client applications within virtual secure elements are presented as superior forms for implementing the functions of offline payment and privacy in retail CBDC systems.

The Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) joined forces with the OeKB CSD GmbH, the Österreichische Bundesfinanzierungsagentur (Austrian Federal Financing Agency OeBFA), Raiffeisen Bank International AG and Erste Group Bank AG to launched a joint research project dubbed DELPHI (Delivery vs. Payment Hybrid Initiative). In this research project, the involved parties aim to simulate both the issuance and settlement of Austrian government bonds as security tokens with a wholesale CBDC on a blockchain platform on a testnet.

Crunchfish is a pioneer within offline payments. The challenge that Crunchfish has solved is implementing trusted client applications that enables offline payments, regardless of which mobile device the user has. Crunchfish Digital Cash is an offline payment solution that is both secure and device-agnostic. The solution has been approved by the Reserve Bank of India for rollout by regulated entities and is live with one bank in the Digital Rupee pilot. This track session discusses how to implement trust in clients in a device-agnostic way for offline payments in retail CBDC systems.

Following on from the plenary discussion, please join us to dive deeper into the role technology plays in our approach to supporting more efficient cross-border payments

The business of Central Banking is rapidly evolving. Bankers, FinTechs and Regulators are grappling with the move to digital currency and the added pressures of regulatory compliance.  Many Central Bank processes are still conducted manually. This session will discuss how industry professionals can prepare for the age of digital infrastructure and stricter compliance standards.

Bankable digital asset token eg based on CBDC solutions incentivize stakeholders to protect natural resources by offering financial benefits. This approach enhances transparency, accountability, and democratizes access to environmental investments, enabling broader participation in sustainable initiatives.Environmental protection is crucial and impacts everyone. Our planet's condition directly influences our health, well-being, and the future of generations to come. From the air we breathe to the water we drink and the soil that supports our food and ecosystems, every aspect of our lives is connected to the environment. Therefore, it is imperative that we all take responsibility. By making sustainable choices and supporting green innovations, we can ensure a healthier, more resilient world for all.

Many experts predict that quantum computers capable of breaking widely used cryptographic defenses could emerge within the next decade. As central banks develop their CBDC solutions today, it's crucial to consider this potential breakthrough to ensure long-term security. In this session, we will discuss the risks and explore how to prepare for and mitigate them.

In this session, we will explore the possibility of building a more democratic version of the financial system that puts the user at the center. Let's discuss the solutions proposed so far to build a tokenized economy. We will also examine how technology can enhance user experience, foster competition, providing real choice, and enabling data ownership and privacy.

Programmability and tokenization are anticipated to enhance innovation, efficiency, and resilience in the global financial system. However, misconceptions are leading to early failures and missed opportunities.

This presentation will outline fundamental concepts and distinguish various forms of programmability and tokenization. It will also establish the necessary conditions for the successful development of tokenization ecosystems.

This presentation will provide an overview of the Digital Turkish Lira Project, covering the main design principles, features, and key findings of Phase-1, as well as updates for the next phases.

The business of Central Banking is rapidly evolving. Bankers, FinTechs and Regulators are grappling with the move to digital currency and the added pressures of regulatory compliance.  Many Central Bank processes are still conducted manually. This session will discuss how industry professionals can prepare for the age of digital infrastructure and stricter compliance standards.

This presentation will provide an update on the BIS Innovation Hub, Hong Kong Centre’s Project mBridge , a multi-CBDC platform for wholesale cross-border payments that recently reached MVP stage.

The ambition behind the digital Euro is clear : Combine convenience of digital payments with cash-likes features A key component of this is enabling offline payments, which presents both opportunities and challenges. To explore this, Worldline developed a prototype for the European Central Bank (ECB) to test the feasibility of offline transactions. In this session, IDEMIA and Worldline will share their experiences and findings from this innovative initiative.

The presentation will provide an overview of the Bank of Korea's research and development initiatives related to CBDCs. It will explore the key outcomes and insights gained from previous projects. Subsequently, the presentation will introduce the Bank of Korea's latest endeavors in the realm of CBDCs, which aim to establish a new financial market infrastructure. It will cover the proposed network design, architectural frameworks, and the various types of digital currencies within this network.

CBDCs will facilitate the direct exchange of many currencies and thus reduce demand for the US dollar as a vehicle currency. This decline in demand for the dollar will reduce the proportion of dollars nations elect to hold in their foreign exchange reserves, thereby exacerbating the current long-term decline in the dollar as the principal global reserve currency. It follows the US will need to issue a wholesale US dollar CBDC for offshore use to have any prospect of maintaining the primacy of the dollar as a global reserve currency and garnering all the benefits this confers.

This presentation will summarize the research findings at Oxford University regarding the pathways for CBDC ecosystem formation in different countries.

This presentation will discuss the role of the retail CBDC in the monetary system, distinguish objectives from benefits, address misconceptions about retail CBDCs, highlight risks and implementation challenges and outline options to address the risks and challenges.

Retail CBDC are aimed at individual consumers and businesses, offering a digital form of central bank money for everyday transactions.

The discussion explores various challenges such as user adoption, technological infrastructure, ensuring user privacy and security, managing financial stability risks, and addressing regulatory and legal considerations. Panelists also examine the implications for financial intermediaries, the potential impact on monetary policy transmission, and the need for collaboration between central banks, regulators, and the private sector. Overall, the panel underscores the importance of careful planning, stakeholder engagement, and robust risk management frameworks in successfully introducing a retail CBDC amidst a rapidly evolving digital financial landscape.

This panel explores the evolving landscape of digital currencies and their implications for the future of finance.

CBDCs are state-backed digital representations of fiat currencies. Tokenized assets are digital representations of real-world assets like real estate or stocks, providing fractional ownership and increased liquidity. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like fiat currencies or commodities, were highlighted for their potential to mitigate volatility in the crypto market and facilitate cross-border transactions.

The panelists debated the advantages and challenges of each approach, including regulatory concerns, technological feasibility, and potential impact on monetary policy. Overall, the discussion underscores the need for careful consideration of the diverse implications of CBDCs, tokenized assets, and stablecoins in shaping the future of global finance.

In this panel discussion, experts will discuss the crucial topic of interoperability. They will explore how CBDCs could as seamlessly as possible integrate with existing financial systems and collaborate with external systems beyond central banks. Key points will include the need for technical standards, regulatory alignment, and private sector engagement to enable cross-border transactions and drive innovation. The panel aims to highlight the importance of interoperability in realizing the full potential of CBDCs for enhancing domestic & global payment networks.

With the digital euro project, the Eurosystem aims to make public money fit for the digital age.  In this session, we will talk about the progress of the work, current challenges and the German perspective on the digital euro.

This speech will offer an overview of the activities in the CBDC sphere in Latin America.

This presentation will discuss the legal and technical challenges and implications of Smart contracts within the jurisdiction of the National Bank of Georgia. It will also examine some use-cases of Smart Contracts in finance. Smart contracts are an essential element of the NBG's envisioned CBDC ecosystem and are also crucial for the wider fintech industry. Additionally, an updates on the NBG's CBDC pilot project will be given.

This presentation will highlight the transformative potential of CBDCs in enhancing financial inclusion. By offering accessible and affordable financial services, CBDCs can help unbanked and underbanked populations join the economic system. The speaker will emphasise the importance of digital identity, seamless integration with existing payment systems, and streamlined distribution of government aid through CBDCs. Public-private partnerships and digital literacy programs were identified as critical to successful implementation. Addressing security and privacy concerns was also deemed crucial to building public trust and ensuring widespread adoption, ultimately fostering a more equitable digital economy.