IMF To Release CBDC Handbook Amid Increasing Guidance Demand

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is experiencing high demand for guidance on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) due to an “unprecedented” interest in them. To address this, the IMF is planning to release a CBDC handbook, according to Bo Li, the organisation’s deputy managing director.

The IMF has engaged with almost 30 countries requesting assistance in CBDCs in the past two years, with over 40 countries contacting them. Li stressed the importance of CBDC capacity development to avoid a digital divide. A poorly designed CBDC could pose various risks, and the IMF’s handbook will address this by offering information, experience, empirical findings, and frameworks to evaluate CBDC.

Deputy Managing Director Bo Li: #CBDC has profound implications for monetary policy & fin stability. If properly designed and implemented, it could strengthen the usability, resilience & efficiency of payment systems & increase fin inclusion: https://t.co/a1GQRhsDLO pic.twitter.com/GuKgaWcxpv

— IMF (@IMFNews) April 12, 2023

The handbook will be completed over four to five years, with significant funding from Japan. It will cover 19 policy and technical issues chapters, focusing on tailored assistance for systemically essential countries and countries with relatively high-capacity constraints or weak regulatory standards.