Central Bank of Brazil President States Digital Real Pilot Is Imminent

The president of the Central Bank of Brazil, Roberto Campos Neto, has clarified the status of the development of the Brazilian central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital real. Campos Neto stated that the pilot test will start now and that banks will have to digitize more of their balances in the future.

Pilot Tests for Digital Real Imminent

Brazil is making strides in developing its central bank digital currency (CBDC), and the design of its architecture. Roberto Campos Neto, president of the Central Bank of Brazil, recently detailed the advances that the institution has made in building the foundation for the operation of the proposed digital real currency.

In a conference organized by Brazilian bank BTG Pactual, Campos Neto stated that the pilot tests for the digital real would be starting ”now,” and that the project was receiving significant assistance from private banks. Campos Neto estimates that the full development route for the project should be ready for December 2023, when his mandate as president of the bank ends.

Campos Neto also commented that the implementation of the currency will make banks keep more digitalized assets as part of their balances. The Brazilian CBDC model implies that each bank will be able to issue this currency backed by regulated deposits.

A New Vision for Finance

Campos Neto also elaborated on the vision he has for the complete digital financial system that he envisions for Brazil in the coming years. For Neto, the digital real is just a piece more of Brazil’s structure, which will also include the current fiat payments initiative PIX, and the Open Finance projects, which aim to allow for seamless interconnection of banks.

Neto believes that this platform might change the way in which personal finance is conducted in Brazil today. He stated:

I think these three things can change the history of financial intermediation in Brazil, transforming our system into something efficient, and today in the world there is no one so advanced.

On Feb. 6, Fabio Araujo, coordinator of the project at the Central Bank of Brazil, explained how these first tests would be conducted. The pilot tests are to focus on assessing the degree of security that the currency can bring to users, and if the level of privacy is compliant with current regulatory standards.