Swiss National Bank Announces Plans To Launch Wholesale CBDC Pilot

Switzerland looks set to join the growing list of nations conducting a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot. According to a report by Reuters, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is set to begin a wholesale CBDC pilot in conjunction with the Swiss company SIX digital exchange. 

This development was revealed by SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan while speaking at the Point Zero Forum in Zurich.

Jordan further expressed that the Swiss CBDC was not a test project and would be considered real money upon launch. He said: 

This is not just an experiment, it will be real money equivalent to bank reserves, and the objective is to test real transactions with market participants.

The wholesale CBDC project is expected to commence soon, although no confirmed date exists. In addition, Jordan stated that the project is programmed to run for a fixed time.

SNB Expresses Caution On Retail CBDCs, Plans To Retain Cash Use

Unlike wholesale CBDCs, which are designed for interbank settlement and financial transactions between institutions, retail CBDCs are designed for general public use. 

While speaking at the Point Zero Forum, the SNB chairman, Thomas Jordan, expressed the reservations of the apex bank about retail CBDCs, describing their use as “more difficult to control.” He said:

We do not exclude that we will never introduce retail [CBDCs], but nevertheless, we are a little bit prudent at the moment. 

In addition, the SNB governor, Andrea Maechler, who was also present at the same forum, stated the intentions of the apex bank to maintain the use of cash regardless of its involvement with CBDCs. She said: 

It is the one way that retail households can hold central bank money. That feature needs to be maintained irrespective of the technology.

CBDC Adoption Grows

Central Bank Digital Currencies, popularly known as CBDCs, have recently received much attention. These digital currencies represent virtual money issued and backed by a country’s central bank. 

According to data from the Atlantic Council’s CBDC Tracker, 120 countries worldwide have shown interest in CBDCs, with 11 nations completing successful launches, while 18 others are currently in the pilot stage. 

After successfully launching its wholesale CBDC pilot, Switzerland will join the latter group, which includes nations such as China, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Singapore (green on the chart below), etc.

Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom (light blue on the chart below) are notable countries, among others, still in the CBDC development phase, as seen in the chart below. 

That said, examples of nations with fully launched CBDCs include The Bahamas (The Sand Dollar), Jamaica (JAM-DEX), Nigeria (e-Naira), etc.