ZB Academy：Large technology companies have forced central banks to realize the importance of CBDC
On the evening of November 13th, US time, payment provider BitPay announced the launch of a new service that allows companies to use cryptocurrency to make collective payments to employees, contractors, customers, and suppliers. Stephen Pair, CEO of BitPay, said that the acceptance of blockchain payments is rising because it provides a simple payment method worldwide. With this new service, companies do not need to buy, own or manage cryptocurrency, and recipients can receive payments more efficiently and at a lower cost.
In addition, also on the evening of the 13th, Peninsula Visa, an American company that provides passport and visa services, announced that travelers can use Bitcoin to pay for passport fees. Payments will be processed through Coinbase Commerce, the merchant payment department of the cryptocurrency exchange. But it should be clear that not all the company’s services are included.
So far, the company supports customers to use Bitcoin to pay for passport renewal, name changes, and the cost of processing a second passport, and some other services will be included in the support of Bitcoin payments next year. In this regard, Evan James, Chief Operating Officer of Peninsula Visa, said that the COVID-19 outbreak has made the entire world slowly enter digitalization. Now introducing new payment methods is the right thing to do at the right time.
Recently, Benoit Coeure, Director of the Innovation Center of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), said that large technology companies’ actions against digital currencies, such as Paypal and Liara, are an opportunity to prompt central banks to seriously consider issuing digital currencies.
Last Friday, French newspaper “L Express” published an interview with Coeure on BIS. Coeure believes that central banks have been thankless in terms of advance payments. He said that 30 years ago, the banking industry was innovative. Nowadays, the continuous advancement of digitalization and the emergence of technologies such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Alipay and smartphone payment have brought a revolution to the industry. But even so, these advances are limited to the user interface and have not caused fundamental damage to the payment channel.
Coeure said that the real reason that prompted the central bank to switch to considering CBDC was the Libra project initiated by Facebook. The project provides not only user interface improvements, but a global, closed but self-sufficient project. Because Libra also has payment methods, wallets, and global network storage mechanisms, it can ensure that funds are transferred from one place to another without passing through the central bank settlement system. Coeure admits that the project will bring benefits to users, but also believes that the emergence of closed payment channels dominated by technology giants poses risks to industry competition and data protection. But despite this, Coeure’s view is not a total denial of digital projects.
He believes that today, as the public is gradually turning away from cash and turning to mobile payments, the surge in online transactions and the global spread of COVID-19 can indeed be seen by the public. The digital performance is very impressive. Central banks must rethink their services and re-examine their role in this new environment.
Coeure cited a recent report issued by BIS and seven other central banks, saying: “We must promote the development of digital currency as part of the solution,” although countries should “advance at their own pace.” Finally, Coeure said that in the future CBDC will become the safest currency issued by public institutions, but there will certainly be other options, such as Bitcoin.
As of press time, according to ZB.com’s official market report, Bitcoin is currently quoted at US$15,975, a 24-hour increase of 0.05%, and the highest 24-hour price is US$16,150.
About ZB Group
ZB Group was founded in 2012 with the goal of providing leadership to the blockchain development space and today manages a network that includes digital assets exchanges, wallets, capital ventures, research institutes, and media. The Group’s flagship platform is ZB.com, the industry leading digital asset exchange. The platform launched in early 2013 and boasts one of the world’s largest trading communities.
ZB Group also includes ZBG the innovative crypto trading platform, and BW.com, the world’s first mining-pool based exchange. Other holdings include wallet leader BitBank, as well as exchange brands ZBM, ZBX and Korea’s Bithi.
Industry intelligence and standards are headed by the recently launched ZB Nexus who embody the core values of ZB Group and open-source their reports and analysis for the public.
Learn more about ZB Group by visiting www.zb.com.
