The Bank of Korea announced on April 6 that information technology has launched a pilot program to assess the logistics of issuing a central bank digital currency —  or CBDC.

While the South Korean central bank has no immediate plans to introduce such a currency, the airplane pilot scheme will ensure that it is prepared to do and then in the face of irresolute market place weather.

22-calendar month pilot scheme

Post-obit theoretical research conducted in February 2022, the pilot volition contain a technological and legal review of CBDC issuance. It began in March and is scheduled to run for 22 months, through to December 2022.

The initial stage is to define the requirements and design of the CBDC, to run for five months until July 2022. This will overlap a review of the technology required to implement the currency, which is scheduled from April until August.

Following this, at that place volition be an analysis of business processes, lasting until the end of 2022. Finally, the whole of 2022 should see a 12-calendar month build and examination of the CBDC airplane pilot system.

No current plans to go alive

The declaration fabricated clear that the bank does not see an immediate demand to release a digital currency in South korea, rather that, based on other nations' research in the field, it wishes to be prepared in example such a move becomes a necessity:

"The need to issue a CBDC in the near future still remains slim when considering the demand for cash that still exists, the competitive payment service market and high-level financial inclusion, but there is a need to be able to quickly take steps in instance market weather at home and abroad modify rapidly."

As Cointelegraph has recently reported, China'south central bank has emphasized that its top priority is the development of its CBDC, while the Bank of France is proposing to test the integration of CBDCs into interbank payments systems. Meanwhile, the caput of the Philippines' UnionBank has predicted the end of physical cash entirely