PETER GRIFFIN: Time to do the prep work for our own digital currency

Thu, 14 May 2020

The Reserve Bank’s move to appoint a ‘head of money and cash’ shows it is getting serious about planning for the future of money and the possibility of a digital kiwi dollar. The Reserve Bank has been fairly tepid on the idea of introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to date and for good reason. Our financial system works well. The ‘big four’ banks may wear up to $4.7 billion in covid-19-related losses but they are well-placed to weather the economic fallout. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which emerged in 2009 in the wake...

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