A collaboration of the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of France was recently announced for the purpose of combining efforts to launch a cross-border central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions services.
Aptly named Project Jura, the two banking institutions will focus on delivering wholesale transactions using both a digital euro and a digital frank.
Sylvie Goulard, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, revealed that his institution is convinced of the benefits that come with a central bank digital currency. Some of these pros concern the deliverance of maximum security to financial transactions, as well as increasing the effectiveness of said transactions.
A third major partner that will combine efforts with he two banks is the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub. Moreover, a list of privately owned will be involved in the pilot run. The list includes Credit Suisse, SIX Digital Exchange, Accenture, Natixis, and more.
It’s comes to no one’s surprise that both banking institutions have been experimenting with CBDC at their own pace. The Bank of France was the first EU bank to test the CBDC in a real world transaction. Moreover, the Swiss National Bank was recently involved with project Helvetia, in which it partnered with BIS.
Meanwhile, all around the world governments are considering or already testing CBDC pilot programs, with China currently leading the way.
