Digital currencies

The Federal Reserve and other central banks deciding whether to compete with private cryptocurrencies should heed the financial stability risks, such as expanding the economic power of governments and altering longstanding payments models.

Mainstream attention to crypto and active projects mean it's time to have a strategy for CBDCs, says R3's Todd McDonald.

The Federal Reserve and other central banks deciding whether to compete with private cryptocurrencies should heed the financial stability risks, such as expanding the economic power of governments and altering longstanding payments models.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican, leads a new congressional caucus aimed at educating members about fintech issues. She says her state could serve as a model for regulating digital assets.

The special-purpose bank, licensed by the state of Wyoming, has drawn the support of investors and some policymakers. But banking groups say the digital assets that underlie its business model are highly volatile.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is involved in a large-scale research and development project on the digital dollar, and that questions of whether adopting such a currency would provide a public benefit have yet to be resolved.

Bradley Riss is chief commercial officer at Checkout.com, a firm that acts as a payment gateway, acquirer and processor through a single channel, covering cards, passthrough wallets, stored value wallets and alternative payment options such as point of sale credit. It charges a fee based on processing and card payment costs rather than the percentage+ model that most payment API companies charge. The model is designed to make the service customized to different merchants and serve as a base to offer other merchant products.

China’s central bank said its planned digital currency will coexist with technology platforms like Ant Group’s Alipay, Tencent and WeChat Pay, which currently dominate the online payments market.

Democratic leaders are encouraging the Federal Reserve to develop its own digital currency to expand financial services access. Chair Jerome Powell indicated the central bank plans to take a methodical approach.

Potential central bank digital currencies would need to be integrated into existing payment systems alongside cash and other forms of money, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said.