Digital Currency Not On The Cards For New Zealand Right Now

By James Gray·20 October 2020·1 min read

Key Points

New Zealand's central bank continues to study state-issued digital currencies but has no immediate plans for one.
Christian Hawkesby, an assistant governor at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, told att

New Zealand's central bank continues to study state-issued digital currencies but has no immediate plans for one. Christian Hawkesby, an assistant governor at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, told attendees at the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand this week that the bank continues to examine digital currencies. "CBDCs present a range of high-level benefits and challenges," he said, while adding that there are "no immediate plans to launch a CBDC."

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The central bank has been tracking digital currency developments for about two years. Around the same time, the government released a document detailing both the advantages and risks of a digital currency.

Hawkesby referenced a Bank for International Settlements report published in January, which found that more than 80% of the world's central banks were investigating CBDCs. He cited several motivations driving this global interest: cash use has declined, foreign currencies appear more popular, and heavy reliance on physical money creates financial exclusion for segments of the population.

New Zealand won't have a digital currency in the near term. Two countries have progressed past the research phase. China conducted a digital yuan trial in Shenzhen, while the Bahamas rolls out its digital currency nationwide this week following a successful pilot program last year.

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