South Korea to Test Wholesale CBDC-Settled Deposit Tokens for Government Expenses (MSIT)
The South Korean Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (MSIT) has authorized a regulatory-sandbox pilot allowing public officials to use commercial-bank deposit tokens, settled with Bank of Korea wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC), for eligible government operating expenses. The pilot bypasses statutory restrictions that otherwise limit such payments to government cards and bank transfers, using smartphone QR codes and pre-programmed spending controls. It extends Project Hangang from consumer and subsidy use cases into public-sector disbursement while preserving a two-tier model: banks issue the customer-facing tokenized deposits and the central bank provides interbank settlement. [MSIT]
BTW if you want to see a complete database of my DFC-related posts going back years, including many that didn’t make the Daily Digest cut, click here.
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.
