CBDC is Not an International Competition: Taiwan’s Central Bank

Taiwan’s central bank head Yang Chin-long said on Sunday that the country is not in a hurry to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The president of the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) stressed that CBDCs are not an “international competition.” The national bank will take it slowly, by conducting experiments regarding the digital Taiwan new dollar, he added.

According to a local report, Chin-long took the examples of countries that have issued a CBDC or have conducted pilots. He said that these projects have “not been as good as expected.”

Further, Chin-long would present a special report to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday, regarding planning of digital currency issuance.

He believes that CBDC promotion is a huge and a complex process and requires long-term to carry-out. Jinlong stressed that the central bank will promote it steadily to ensure the spread of digital payment policies.

Taiwan Has No Timetable for CBDC Issuance

Last December, Deputy Governor of the central bank of Taiwan, Chu Mei-lie, said that the bank has completed a technical feasibility study for a wholesale CBDC. He also emphasized that the bank has drawn up plans for further pilots of a retail or “universal” CBDC.

However, the central bank has “no timetable” for issuing a CBDC, Chin-long said on Sunday. The bank is in “the process of continuous research and experimentation it is already improving the processing efficiency and innovative application of the payment system,” Reuters reported.

“The promotion of central bank digital currency is a huge and complex project that will need to be carried out for a long time.”

The deputy governor in December noted that the central bank plans to conduct surveys across the ecosystem on CBDC. Further, it is liaising with the BIS and Swift, Mei-lie added.

Apart from that, Taiwan’s financial regulator, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), unveiled new guidelines for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). It is aimed at enhancing the protection of cryptocurrency users in the country.