CBDC From Global Challenges to Implementation in Kazakhstan (NPCK)
The National Payment Corporation of Kazakhstan (NPCK) published a survey of global central bank digital currency (CBDC) implementation experience to frame Kazakhstan’s Digital Tenge rollout, arguing that a phased, programmability-first approach centered on government-to-business use cases can overcome five identified adoption barriers: low public awareness, high bank integration costs, uncertain banking-sector benefits, distributed ledger technology scalability limits, and competition from established payment instruments. For institutional design, the report advocates a two-tier model (central bank issues, commercial banks and fintechs distribute), holding limits and a reverse-waterfall mechanism to contain deposit outflow risk, and non-DLT distributed databases for high-volume retail transactions. The Kazakhstan-specific case emphasizes automated VAT refunds, targeted budget fund marking, and agricultural payment escrow as priority use cases. [NPCK]
Interconnect to Stabilize: Cross-Border Payments in a Fragmenting World (Banca D’Italia)
Banca d’Italia Governor Fabio Panetta argues that cross-border payments remain structurally deficient despite domestic progress, and that the G20 Roadmap’s four targets—speed, cost, transparency, and access—remain unmet in the remittance segment, with average costs at 6.4% against a 3% objective. Bank of Italy researchers who posed as ordinary users and conducted actual stablecoin transfers found no systematic cost advantage once conversion fees into and out of crypto are included, with some corridors reaching 9%. Root causes include legal and time-zone complexity, fragmented messaging standards, a contracted correspondent banking network (down 30% since 2011), and opaque FX conversion costs. Panetta proposes national-level action plans along three lines: strengthening domestic infrastructure (ISO 20022, extended RTGS hours, central bank money as settlement anchor), improving regulatory frameworks (competition, transparency, FATF travel rule), and preserving global payment system openness. Whether geopolitical fragmentation via rival parallel systems, such as BRICS Pay, erodes interoperability is the key unresolved question. [Banca D’Italia]
The Future of Programmable Payments: Why CBDC and Stablecoins Need Each Other (LinkedIn)
The Bank of Israel’s Assaf David-Margalit posted a nice interpretation of the Bank of Canada’s recently published “to tokenize or not to tokenize” working paper. Assaf argues that tokenized central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and regulated stablecoins should operate as complementary infrastructure layers rather than rivals. The Bank of Canada’s paper’s core insight is that a tokenized CBDC establishes a “technological floor” by offering superior collateral efficiency—eliminating default risk allows the central bank to support transaction volumes with lower collateral requirements, crowding out inefficient stablecoins through market discipline. Assaf distinguishes programmable payments infrastructure (capable of interacting with smart contracts) from programmable money (which would compromise fungibility), asserting that CBDC should provide the settlement layer while private stablecoins innovate at the application layer using CBDC as the reserve asset. [LinkedIn]
After Acacia: The Next Era of Financial System Innovation? (RBA)
[March 25, 2026] Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Assistant Governor Brad Jones foreshadowed the conclusions from the Project Acacia. Assisted with regulatory relief from ASIC and AUSTRAC, industry participants in Project Acacia explored 20 use cases involving a range of assets, forms of money and settlement arrangements. It found that tokenisation and related infrastructure changes can materially reduce settlement frictions, counterparty risk and manual processing in wholesale markets, especially in fixed income and term deposits, and support new asset structures and investor segments, However, large‑scale adoption is constrained by lentrenched network effects, legal uncertainty (enforcement of on‑chain records, settlement finality, licensing perimeter, prudential treatment) and the absence of a coordinated public‑private strategy to scale from pilots to commercial deployment. [RBA]
I am honored to have been given the opportunity to contribute a chapter to the soon-to-be released book, Tokenisation of Money: From Fiat Currencies to Stablecoins, published by Springer! Expertly edited by Prof. Selim Yazıcı, Prof. C. Coşkun Küçüközmen, and Dr. Michael Salmony, it serves as a critical handbook for navigating the profound transformation of the global financial services industry. At a time when there is substantial confusion regarding new digital instruments, this book distinguishes reality from hype across the dimensions of CBDCs, stablecoins, and tokenized deposits. In my contribution, I provide an overview and reality check on global retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments. The book will be available via digital platforms by the end of May and you can pre-order the hard cover version here: https://link.springer.com/book/9783032229458!
FYI I produce a monthly digest of digital fiat currency (DFC) developments exclusively for the official sector (e.g., central banks, ministries of finance and international financial institution (e.g., the BIS, IMF, OECD, World Bank)) plus academics and firms that are active in the DFC space (commercial banks, technology providers, consultants, etc.). (DFCs include central bank digital currency (CBDC), stablecoins and tokenized deposits.) It goes out via email on the first business day of every month, and if you’re interested in being on the mailing list, please email me at john@kiffmeister.com.
