Retail CBDCs fail to address real consumer needs, survey shows

Interoperability, privacy and infrastructure always have obstacles to retail CBDC, reveals a globaldata survey.

The digital currencies of the central bank are always a difficult sale, even where they have officially launched. The last of GlobalData survey report reveals that for consumers in many countries, Cbdcs Do not offer enough to pass familiar payment methods, because digital currencies supported by the State find it difficult to incentive to users, confidentiality problems and technological challenges.

Blandina Szalay, banking and payment analyst at Globaldata, says that “the very limited adoption of CBDCs in the countries where it has been entirely launched – in Bahamas, Jamaica, the Union of Caraïbes Orientale, and Nigeria – can be attributed to the lack of convincing incentives for consumers pass to CBDC payment methods to which they are already used to it. »»

Convenience and habit also play a big role in the way people choose to pay. According to GlobalData, CBDCs have not yet offered enough advantages to make a better option. In fact, in places with active CBDC programs, users have complained that new systems make payments more complicated without “offering sufficient advantages”.

For central banks, the challenge is not only technical. Szalay says that Getting widespread adoption is crucial to achieving the advantages that CBDCs are supposed to provide, as the improvement in “cross -border payment efficiency, promoting financial inclusion and new financial and monetary stability”.

In September 2024, a report By the Atlantic Council, revealed that 134 countries, representing 98% of the world economy, explored CBDC. More than 65 countries, including India, Australia and Brazil, are at advanced stages of development, piloting or launching their CBDC projects. All G20 countries are now actively studying their own digital currencies, with 19 at advanced exploration stages.