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Thailand's Central Bank Taps German Payments Giant to Design CBDC Prototype
The hiring of a large international technology provider signals the bank is on schedule for launching its digital currency.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:04 p.m. Published Jun 2, 2021, 3:00 a.m.
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has hired German technology company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) prototype.
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- BoT chose G+D for the proof-of-concept retail CBDC project, according to a procurement announcement on Sunday.
- The bank has allocated 10 million baht (US$320,000) for the project, which includes taxes, transportation, registration fees and other expenses.
- G+D generated revenue exceeding €2.3 billion (US$2.7 billion) in 2020.
- The hiring of an international technology provider signals the bank is moving in line with its three- to five-year target for rolling out a CBDC.
- The bank announced in early April that it had begun accepting public feedback on its retail CBDC, with an end date of June 15.
- Retail CBDCs differ from wholesale CBDCs in that they are digital extensions of a nation's currency, while wholesale CBDCs refer to interbank settlement infrastructure.
- G+D and BoT had not responded to a CoinDesk request for comment by the time of publication.
See also: Central Banks of China, UAE Join Blockchain-Based CBDC Payments Project
UPDATE (June 2, 18:36): Updated to reflect that G+D's yearly revenue was in EUR, not USD.
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