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The Bank of France, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Bank for International Settlements have successfully tested the application of the wholesale central bank’s digital currency to international payments. The project used distributed ratio technology and was carried out with the help of private companies.

France and Switzerland Explore Direct Wholesale Digital Currency Transfer in Euros and Swiss Francs

An experiment carried out by the monetary authorities of France, Switzerland and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) indicated that central bank digital currencies (CBDC) can be used effectively for international agreements between financial institutions, announced the participants of the trial.

The Jura Project, which has just been completed, has focused on settling currency transactions in wholesale CBDCs in euros and Swiss francs, as well as the issuance, transfer and exchange of a euro-denominated French commercial paper in tokens between French financial institutions and Swiss, they explained. the banks.

The test involved the direct transfer of wholesale CBDCs in euros and Swiss francs between French and Swiss commercial banks on a single distributed accounting platform operated by a third party with real value transactions. It was carried out in collaboration with the private companies Accenture, Credit Suisse, Natixis, R3, SIX Digital Exchange and UBS.

According to the partners, issuing CBDCs in large quantities, providing regulated non-resident financial institutions with direct access to central bank money, raises certain policy issues. To address these issues, they have taken a new approach, employing subnets and dual notarial signatures that should give central banks the confidence to issue wholesale CBDCs on third-party platforms. Benoît Cœuré, who heads the BIS Innovation Center, commented:

Project Jura confirms that a well-designed wholesale CBDC can play a critical role as a safe and neutral settlement asset for international financial transactions. It also demonstrates how central banks and the private sector can work together across borders to promote innovation.

“Jura demonstrates how wholesale CBDCs can optimize international and international business, which is a key facet of international transactions,” added Sylvie Goulard, deputy governor of the Banque de France.

The wholesale CBDC experiment is part of a series of tests launched by the Bank of France last year and a continuation of tests carried out under the Helvetia SNB Project. It also contributes to the ongoing work on cross-border payments at the G20, noted central banks, noting that it should not be seen as a plan on their part to issue CBDCs en masse.