The central bank of Japan has formed a new committee whose mandate will be coordinating its central bank digital currency (CBDC) efforts. The formed committee aims to bring together the Japanese and international banking community, securities dealers, payments associations, and the fintech community. Called the Liaison and Coordination Committee, the group will facilitate a smooth implementation of the proof of concept (PoC) for the central bank-backed digital currency.
The committee will provide updates on the proof of concept with the government and private sector.
The formed committee will also be in charge of sharing details and providing updates on the proof of concept with the government and the private sector. Some of its members will include The Japanese Bankers Association, International Bankers Association of Japan, National Association of Labor Banks, Japan Securities Dealers Association, Japan Payment Service Association, and Fintech Association of Japan. The Liaison and Coordination Committee will meet regularly—online for the time being due to COVID-19 restrictions—and upon discussing the central bank’s progress with the CBDC PoC, it will communicate the same to the general public.
The Bank of Japan is eyeing CBDC experiments this year.
The new committee’s formation is announced just days after the BoJ revealed that it was eyeing CBDC experiments this year. As reported earlier, the BoJ governor stressed that this wasn’t an indicator that the bank would issue a digital yen. The Bank of Japan’s governor revealed the state-backed digital currency later this year will allow the BOJ to stay in line with other central banks that have stepped up their CBDC efforts. The governor, however, clarified that the BOJ would not be issuing a CBDC any time soon. Japan is striving to keep pace with its neighbor China, the global leader among major economies in the CBDC race.
