Today the Bank of Japan confirmed its central bank digital currency (CBDC) research will enter a pilot phase in April, following two years of proofs of concept (PoC).
The central bank has not yet decided to issue a digital yen. The eventual decision may require a referendum. The central bank sees the multi phase pilot program as a first step towards finding designs that can address the needs of users, stakeholders and society. “A method of payment is not something that becomes the norm once an ideal arrangement is brought into the world,” said Executive Director Uchida Shinichi.
He outlined two goals for the pilot phase. To date, its PoC tests have been largely internal, so it now wants to trial the technical feasibility of integration with banks, intermediary networks and other stakeholders. It intends to test the end-to-end flow of payments. However, in the first instance, there will be no live transactions with retailers, only simulations.
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