The Bank of England has outlined its current approach to innovation in money and payments in a new discussion paper. The paper proposes an experimentation programme to test infrastructure that supports the settlement of central bank money against digital assets. It also provides insights into the Bank’s latest thinking around stablecoins, tokenised deposits and other innovations. In this blogpost, we outline our top ten takeaways.

Bank of England discussion paper 

The Bank of England has published its approach to innovation in money and payments. This follows previous papers on the regulation of stablecoins, innovations by deposit-takers and a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The paper reveals that the Bank plans to launch an experimentation programme to test infrastructure that supports the settlement of central bank money against digital assets in financial markets. It also provides other insights into the Bank’s current thinking around wholesale and retail payments, and invites market feedback. Here are our top ten takeaways.

Ten key takeaways

1. The Bank remains uncertain that programmable platforms will be adopted at scale but wants to be prepared, just in case.

The paper recognises the benefits that programmable platforms (including those based on distributed ledger technologies) could bring to financial markets, as well as the recent uptick in digital issuances. At the same time, it highlights factors that might limit wide adoption. These include potential challenges around liquidity, fragmentation and capacity. The Bank concludes that the outlook is “uncertain”. Still, it appears to consider the prospect of mass adoption significant enough to invest substantial resource in preparing for that eventuality.

2. The Bank is motivated by a desire to preserve the “singleness of money” and the “finality of settlement”

“Singleness of money” is the principle that all different forms of money are exchangeable with one another at par value. This supports the role of money as a store of value and a unit of account. “Finality of settlement” is described as the idea that “when we pay for something, we are assured that it actually has been paid for at par value”. This supports the role of money as a medium of exchange.

In reality, these are relative concepts, rather than absolute ones, even in the existing payments landscape. In relation to commercial bank money, the Bank has sought to uphold these principles through a myriad of measures, such as the financial services compensation scheme, special resolution regimes applicable to banks and arrangements that allow for payments to be settled between banks in central bank money. The Bank is considering how these principles should be applied to other novel forms of private money.

3. The Bank is unlikely to support the use of stablecoins in wholesale markets

The Bank says it is still considering the responses it has received in relation to its discussion paper on the regulation of retail stablecoins and does not give much away as to how it will take that forward. It does indicate, however, that it is unlikely to support the use of stablecoins for wholesale transactions, at least in the short term. It considers this to pose “significant financial stability risks” which are “an order of magnitude greater than the risks posed by retail use cases”. The Bank’s primary concern seems to be around the risk that unlimited access to stablecoins could facilitate bank runs in times of stress.

Meanwhile, the Bank has been working with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to explore technology solutions that would enable regulators to monitor backing arrangements in relation to stablecoins on a near real time basis.

4. The Bank also has some reservations around certain types of tokenised deposit

The paper also identifies that certain types of tokenised deposits can be transferred directly between participants and do not rely on settlement in accounts at a central bank. In this respect, they are similar to stablecoins. The paper notes that the Bank has a “low financial stability risk appetite” for a shift away from ultimate settlement in central bank money.

5. The Bank is looking at various ways to support and expand settlement in central bank money

To avoid this outcome, the Bank is looking at various ways to facilitate ultimate settlement in central bank money against novel asset classes. This includes a review into whether to lower the threshold for direct participation in CHAPS (the real time gross settlement (RTGS) wholesale payment system operated by the Bank).

It also includes an experimentation programme to test infrastructure that would support the settlement of central bank money against digital assets, including digital securities and other forms of digital cash. This could create a range of opportunities for the market, including within ongoing industry projects such as the Regulated Liabilities Network.

The Eurosystem has been running a similar programme, which is now in its second wave.

6. The programme would test both synchronisation models and wholesale CBDC models

In line with previous communications, the Bank continues to see the potential for its existing RTGS infrastructure to be used to facilitate settlement against digital assets, using synchronisation functionality. It proposes to test both synchronisation and wholesale CBDC models within its experimentation programme, in order to assess their relative merits. The Bank sees some of the models that have been used in the Eurosystem’s programme as effectively relying on synchronisation functionality, rather than creating a CBDC as such.

7. Project Agorá may be used to explore interoperability with global ledgers

Earlier this year, the BIS announced Project Agorá, an initiative with seven central banks (including the Bank of England) and a large group of private sector firms to explore the tokenisation of cross-border payments. The Bank indicates that there may be some interaction between Project Agorá and the programme of experimentation it is now proposing, in particular when it comes to testing interoperability with global ledgers.

8. The Bank is seeking renewed government leadership in relation to retail payments

The paper sets out the Bank’s policy outcomes in relation to retail payments. These relate to the singleness of money; innovation; resilience of infrastructure and the wider ecosystem; and effective governance and funding. The Bank is, however, still looking for clear direction from the new government as to how to deliver those outcomes. It is expecting the Treasury to proceed with publishing a National Payments Vision and says it will work closely with the Treasury and the other regulators to deliver that vision.

9. The Bank is also keen to promote account-to-account payment models

The paper indicates that the Bank also wants to promote a diverse retail payments landscape with account-to-account payment models providing a credible alternative to card payments for a range of use cases. This echoes messages from the Payment Systems Regulator, including in its recent Call for Information with the Financial Conduct Authority on big tech and digital wallets.

10. The Bank is still actively considering the case for a retail CBDC

While the Bank’s retail CBDC project has proceeded into its design phase, this paper hints that the Bank will only go ahead with a retail CBDC if commercial banks fail to meet consumer needs. As to the need for a retail CBDC it notes, for example, that “the Bank will consider the pace of innovation in other forms of private money, in particular commercial bank money used in retail payments, as well as how our own wholesale infrastructure might support retail innovations”. It also says “the Bank considers that commercial bank money needs to keep pace with the needs of consumers and so carry functionalities to deliver safe and sustainable innovation in payments. Absent such innovation, central banks may be left as the only game in town insofar as retail payments innovation is concerned.”

Next steps

The discussion paper sets out nine consultation questions for feedback. Stakeholders have until 31 October to respond. The Bank is proposing to launch the wholesale settlement experimentation programme within the next six months.