Sweden’s Central Bank to Partner with Accenture on E-Krona Pilot
- Accenture will be responsible for building the e-krona’s consumer-facing features.
- The initial contract will last for one year, with the bank saying it is ready to expand that period to up to seven years.
Swedish Central Bank (Riksbank). Henrik Montgomery/TT
Sweden’s central bank is planning to partner with Irish professional services company Accenture in order to develop its e-krona digital currency pilot project, Riksbank said in a press release on 13 December.
According to the announcement, Accenture will be responsible for the development of a platform for the e-krona digital currency.
The company will build the e-krona’s consumer-facing features, such as how the currency will be used on various mobile platforms, and then run them through a test environment with “simulated stores”.
The bank stated that the initiative aims to improve its knowledge about digital currencies, saying:
“The primary objective of the e-krona pilot project is to broaden the bank’s understanding of the technological possibilities for the e-krona.”
Riksbank has further said that while the initial contract is for only one year, it is open to extending the testing period of the platform to up to seven years.
Even though the bank has not committed to issuing the e-krona yet, this new partnership will undoubtedly bring the Scandinavian nation one step closer to its creation.
The development of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) could only benefit from the growing aversion to physical cash in the country. According to a survey conducted by Riksbank every two years, between 2016 and 2018 card payments in the country have increased by 25 percent, at the expense of cash payments.
Consumers in the country have so readily rushed to cashless alternatives, that the Bank of Canada’s Deputy Governor Timothy Lane said during a Fintech conference in November that:
“You’re actually reaching a tipping point in Sweden. Merchants are increasingly refusing to accept banknotes and banks are increasingly not offering services to process banknotes.”
While Sweden is beginning to explore the potential benefits of an e-krona, Switzerland has shut down the idea of issuing an e-franc. Earlier today, the Swiss Federal Council stated that issuing a CBDC could bring more problems to the country and its financial stability, than the potential benefits that might come with.
- The head of China’s central bank digital currency institute said the e-CNY has undergone a major upgrade, and should be made available as an option in all retail scenarios.
- The PBOC official noted that platforms can integrate the CBDC in the short term using QR codes, and focus on upgrading their payment tools in the long run.
Office building of the People’s Bank of China. Flickr
- The current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, announced he is joining the race for the 47th president of the U.S. during a Twitter Spaces event on Wednesday.
- During his speech DeSantis declared his support for Bitcoin and the wider crypto space, noting that if Joe Biden is re-elected “they’ll probably end up killing it”.
- Planned for 1 April, the CBDC trial will involve real consumers and real transactions, though they will be limited to a certain number of customers and transfers.
- The pilot, however, will not be opened to the general public in its first phase, and will only be opened to customers chosen by the 13 participating local banks.