Bank of France chooses eight financial institutions for CBDC experiments

The Bank of France has chosen eight financial institutions as part of a series of tests for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments, according to a recent communique. The participants have been selected from a pool of applications received in May. 

The participants of the experiments include Seba Bank, Societe Generale, ProsperUS, HSBC, Accenture, Euroclear, Iznes and LiquidShare. Bank of France noted that each selected candidate proposed experiments, which will test CBDC suitability in settling financial asset transactions. The participants have also suggested channels for developing CBDC cross-border transfer corridors and the efficient distribution of a future sovereign digital currency. 

A spokesperson from the Bank of Finance said: 

The lessons learned from these experiments will constitute a direct contribution to the more global reflection conducted by the Eurosystem on the benefits of a central bank digital currency. These experiments also illustrate the Banque de France’s commitment to innovation.

Other EU member countries like Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands are also conducting similar CBDC experiments. In related news, China is actively pushing its digital currency electronic payment (DCEP) solution for international transactions. Other than the US and the EU, China seems to be the only economic entity capable of issuing an internationally recognized sovereign digital currency project.