BIS Will Focus On Developing Digital Currencies

The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has decided to focus on developing new digital currencies and will have a separate department led by former ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure to lead this project. 

Facebook’s Libra project and Apple’s recent push to expand into financial services has shaken up Central Bank’s around the world. These tech giants are looking to use innovative technology to change financial markets and introduce new fin products and services that will revolutionise the global payments markets. 

BIS Looking To Lead By Example 

The BIS is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and has a reputation of being the central bank to all central banks. BIS is owned by 60 central banks from around the world which include the European Central Bank, People’s Bank of China and the U.S. Federal Reserve. 

The BIS will take on the challenge of researching and developing financial products and services that will be able to compete digital currencies and fin-tech software that facilities faster and cheaper cross-border payments. Benoit Coeure has embraced this task and says he looks forward to using innovative technology to bring financial inclusion and the creation of stablecoins and financial networks that will shape the payment infrastructure of tomorrow.

At the end of this year, Coeure will complete eight years at the ECB. He has been responsible for their market payments and infrastructure projects along with the oversight of payment systems. He also played a leadership role in mentoring a group that was working on the development of new digital currencies. He will begin his new role at BIS from Jan 15, 2020.

BIS Could Release New Digital Currency

The BIS has remained rather tight lipped regarding its plans for a new digital currency but once can assume that it will not be very long before BIS comes out with a new digital currency of its own.

Central Banks around the world have expressed their concern over Facebook’s Libra Project and many governments have come down hard on Facebook in recent months as they believe Libra is a serious threat. The BIS acknowledges the fact that digital currencies are not going to fade away as most global markets are happy to embrace digital and leave hard cash behind.

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There are unconfirmed reports that the BIS innovation hub responsible for this project will initially operate out of Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore and will come under the authority of the central bank in each of the above countries. Once things are in place, the BIS plans to roll out its innovative department to a number of other countries and assist them on multiple fronts.