Bank of England to press on with digital currency in case banks fall short, Bailey says

WASHINGTON: The Bank of England is reluctantly pressing on with work to create a form of digital money accessible to the general public, as commercial banks risk failing to keep up with less-regulated tech firms, Governor Andrew Bailey said on Saturday.

Bailey’s remarks build on his longstanding concerns that he does not want to see day-to-day payments or banking-type services shift to cryptocurrencies or services from tech companies that are less safe or private than banks.

The BoE and Britain’s finance ministry have said they will not make a final decision before 2025 at the earliest whether to go ahead with a state-backed digital pound or central bank digital currency (CBDC), following a consultation which drew widespread concerns about privacy.

“That (CBDC) is not my preferred option, but it’s one we can’t rule out,” Bailey said at the Group of Thirty in Washington, a forum for central banks and commercial bankers.