Federal Reserve’s Jerome H. Powell: “A Public Consultation for the Digital Dollar”

In a sort of remote dialogue with the speech a few days ago by Sir Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, on the imminent impact of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the scenario of the relationship between people and public money, President Jerome H. Powell outlined the Federal Reserve’s response to the rapid change in the global payments landscape: “Technological advances are driving rapid changes in the global payments landscape. The Federal Reserve is studying these developments and exploring ways to refine its role as the leading payment service provider and issuing authority for the US currency. ” “As the central bank of the United States, the Federal Reserve is tasked with promoting monetary and financial stability and the security and efficiency of the payment system. In pursuit of these fundamental functions, we have closely monitored and adapted the technological innovations that are transforming the world of payments, finance and banking. “A technology that will lead central banks, including the Fed, to the development and issuance of digital currencies. Powell announced that the Federal Reserve plans to publish a discussion paper this summer that will explore the implications of rapidly evolving technology for digital payments, with a focus on the possibility of issuing a US central bank digital currency. technically oriented, focused on specific tools and infrastructures, are underway at the Board and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, while the Fed is also collaborating internationally within the Bank for International Settlements. Powell added: “We believe it is important that any potential CBDC can serve as a complement nto and not as a replacement for cash and current digital forms of the private sector of the dollar, such as deposits with commercial banks. Designing a CBDC would raise important monetary policy, financial stability, consumer protection, legal and privacy considerations and will require careful thought and analysis, including contributions from individuals and elected officials. “In short, Powell expects and proposes a sort of public consultation that can broaden the debate on digital currency outside the financial and government circles. This is also because central banks are working on internal currencies based on people’s digital identity. This opens the question on a who will we have to entrust with our personal data: how many people, how many entities, how many companies and, above all, what kind of non-monetary information should or shouldn’t be contained within our e-ID? In Switzerland, a referendum was recently produced precisely on the introduction of a potential national electronic identity system. The final results saw 64, 4% of voters declare themselves opposed to the program. However, the opposition to the proposal has not focused on a total rejection of the electronic identification system but on the idea that identification can be managed by private companies and not by the government under full democratic supervision. A public debate on this issue, as evoked by Powell, is necessary.