The vast majority of central banks are investigating central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and that could reshape how businesses move money across borders.
Key Takeaways
- A BIS survey (autumn 2021, 81 institutions) found ~90% of central banks exploring CBDCs, with 62% running experiments.
- Efforts span retail CBDCs (for consumers) and wholesale CBDCs (for financial institutions).
- Early deployments include the Bahamas’ Sand Dollar, Nigeria’s eNaira, Eastern Caribbean’s DCash, and China’s e-CNY.
- As CBDCs mature, faster, cheaper, more interoperable payments could become standard.
What Are CBDCs and Why Do They Matter?
CBDCs are digital forms of a country’s sovereign currency, issued by its central bank. They aim to deliver the convenience and programmability of digital money while retaining state-backed stability.
Compared to today’s fragmented rails, CBDCs could:
- Settle faster and cheaper, especially across borders.
- Reduce the need for intermediary currency conversions if common standards emerge.
- Offer resilience: as central bank liabilities, CBDCs are insulated from individual bank failures.
- Improve auditability and compliance—often using permissioned blockchain or ledger tech—while allowing regulators to block illicit flows.
Note: CBDCs are not cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. They’re centralized, regulated, and pegged 1:1 to the issuing fiat currency.
Where Are Central Banks Today?
In the BIS survey period (autumn 2021):
- ~90% of central banks were exploring CBDCs.
- 62% reported running concrete experiments or proofs-of-concept.
- Over 30% focused on retail CBDCs; over 65% explored wholesale use cases (often alongside retail).
- The share involved in pilots roughly doubled year over year (from ~14% to ~26%).
Mature or live examples highlighted at the time included the Sand Dollar (Bahamas), eNaira (Nigeria), DCash (Eastern Caribbean), and e-CNY (China).
Since policy moves evolve quickly, always check the newest guidance from your local central bank or BIS for up-to-date figures.
How Could CBDCs Change Business Payments?
- Cross-border speed & cost: Near-instant settlement lowers friction for global invoices, payroll, and supplier payments.
- Programmability: Conditional payments (escrow, delivery-versus-payment) can be automated at the protocol level.
- Interoperability: If central banks align on technical standards, multi-currency flows become simpler and more predictable.
- Compliance by design: Built-in traceability can streamline AML/CFT and tax reporting.
What This Means for Easykonto Customers
CBDCs won’t replace all existing rails overnight, but they’re likely to coexist with cards, SEPA/SWIFT, and domestic instant schemes for years. Easykonto’s role is to give your business a future-proof operating account that adapts as rails diversify.
With Easykonto you get:
- Multi-currency business accounts (hold, receive, and pay in 30+ currencies).
- Transparent FX with control over when you convert.
- Real-time monitoring, fraud checks, and clear reporting.
- Built-in compliance (KYC/KYB, ongoing screening).
- A unified dashboard that supports today’s rails and is ready to connect to emerging CBDC corridors as they commercialize.
Whether you’re paying global suppliers, settling event payouts, or managing multi-market revenues, Easykonto keeps operations smooth now, and positions you to benefit as CBDC-enabled routes appear.
Bottom Line
Central banks’ CBDC work signals a structural shift in payments—toward faster, programmable, and more interoperable money. While timelines differ by country, businesses that modernize their treasury stack today will be best placed to take advantage tomorrow.
Open an Easykonto account and get the infrastructure you need for efficient global payments ready for the rails you use today and the CBDC rails you’ll use next.