On Tuesday, France’s central bank announced that it had completed a pilot transaction with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) last month that has captured the full settlement cycle. Banque de France collaborated with London-based SETL, a settlement, and payments infrastructure provider, to receive the necessary distributed ledger technology (DLT) and also the infrastructure for the issuance and redemption of the digital currency. SETL’s IZNES team was responsible for facilitating the transaction.
The central bank simulated cash transaction worth over €2 million using the digital currency.
“The successful completion of a central bank digital currency live experiment with BDF confirms that SETL is uniquely positioned to help transform Financial Markets,” SETL Chairman, Sir David Walker, said in a statement. The central bank simulated the cash transaction worth over €2 million using the digital currency in the experiment. Shares of the money market fund ‘Groupama Enterprises’ were subscribed and redeemed. Other participants of the experiment include Citi and CACEIS, which additionally acted as the custodian of the funds; both purchased the CBDC from the central bank.
Central banks in Europe are now in the race to develop a digital currency.
Central banks in European countries are now in the race to develop a digital currency, and the French regulator is at the forefront. The complete CBDC pilot happened after the French central bank listed eight private partners for interbank settlements. The central bank also tested the digital euro under real-world circumstances with Société Générale. “Further to the successful delivery of our two market infrastructures – the Fund Platform IZNES and the ID2S Central Securities Depository, we are now excited to take our Payments offering to the next level. Together with our proven track record in delivering regulated Market Infrastructures, this further strengthens SETL’s strategic capabilities,” SETL CEO Philippe Morel said.
