South Korea is ready to test its CBDC with commercial banks, but the launch is still "a long way off."

Source: Adobe/Pavel Ignatov

South peninsula’s financial institution of Korea (BOK) says it's currently able to start “real-world” testing for its example digital won – however is refusing to mention whether or not or It does not intend to distribute the token.

Aju Kyungjae according that ten domestic business banks have already declared their intention to participate within the next stage of the BOK’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot. As lately last year, the BOK has been conducting behind-closed-doors tests with personal sector corporations together with subsidiaries of the net big Kakao.

however the BOK has declared that within the “second 1/2 the year,” it desires “major domestic business banks” to hitch the testing process.

This next a part of the multi-stage pilot, the bank said, can specialise in payment and payments in real “financial service environments.” As such, the BOK has sent most of the nation’s banks a letter inquiring for help. the ten that have already signaled they're keen to figure with the BOK embody the banking giants Shinhan Bank and Nonghyup (NH) Bank.


The BOK additionally briefed banks on its digital KRW progress late last month.


The financial institution wants to understand whether or not its digital KRW example is compatible with numerous banks’ IT platforms and needs to research potential interoperability-related issues.

The BOK will then follow up this (final) stage of testing with a comprehensive report that it wants to share with overseas “central banks and international money organizations.”

However, the report noted, the BOK still considers that it ought to take a “cautious attitude” toward digital token issuance. And even though the digital won proves to be usable, “it is anticipated that it'll take a considerable quantity of your time before it's really introduced,” per the report.

It accessorial that a “social consensus” on a digital currency rollout would be required before launch, whereas the BOK additionally desires time to “ensure” its token’s “technical stability against cyber attacks.” Security-related matters, it added, are “also not issues which will be resolved in an exceedingly short amount of time.”

Aju Kyungjae quoted a advocate at the BOK as stating:

• "Even if we finish our research into a CBDC, it will take a long time for us to really commercialize it."