UK kicks off consultation on digital pound

finextra.com:

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey says: “As the world around us and the way we pay for things becomes more digitalised, the case for a digital pound in the future continues to grow. A digital pound would provide a new way to pay, help businesses, maintain trust in money and better protect financial stability.“However, there are a number of implications which our technical work will need to carefully consider.

This consultation and the further work the Bank will now do will be the foundation for what would be a profound decision for the country on the way we use money.”The central bank in December sought applications for a five month project to build a prototype wallet for a future digital pound. Key deliverables cited include the development of a mobile wallet app, wallet and merchant website and a back-end server to serve mobile app and website, call the core ledger API and store user data and transaction history.Key to the process will be ensuring trust in the minds of consumers by embedding strict standards for privacy and data protection.

“Like current digital payments and bank accounts, the digital pound would not be anonymous because the ability to identify and verify users is necessary to prevent financial crime,” says the Treasury. “This is essential for trust and confidence in money and therefore wide use of the digital pound.”