Bank of Canada reveals CBDC plans with new job posting

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The Bank of Canada has shed a light on its central bank digital currency plans in a recent job posting. The regulator is seeking a project manager for its CBDC project which it says will be of major social significance.

In its posting, the Bank of Canada stated that it will be “embarking on a program of major social significance to design a contingent system for a central bank digital currency (CBDC).” It will consider several factors before deciding on the best way forward. They include stakeholder needs, regulatory policies, technical challenges and more.

The posting also revealed some of the properties of the planned CBDC, one of which is privacy. The regulator wants to create a currency that will be highly private, but still be compliant with AML and such other regulations.

It will also be universally accessible, regardless of whether the user has a bank account or a mobile phone. It must also be resilient enough to function even during power and network outages. Security will also be crucial, with the bank aiming to create a currency that will garner the confidence of Canadians as much as bank notes have.

The successful applicant will be reporting to the director of fintech research in its IT services department. He/she will “manage the overall scope, cost, schedule and contractual deliverables, which includes applying project management methodologies for planning, tracking, change control and risk management.”

While the job posting isn’t a definitive indication that the bank is developing a CBDC, it’s the most positive move the regulator has made in this regard. In the past, the bank has indicated that it would be willing to issue a CBDC, but only if the ‘need arose’.

The bank’s deputy governor Timothy Lane stated earlier this year that the bank is prepared to adapt if CBDCs gain traction. At the time, he believed that this was still years away and that cash and bank payments would continue to dominate the market.

However, he remarked, “The Bank of Canada can imagine scenarios in which we would consider issuing a CBDC so we can continue to provide Canadians with trustworthy methods of payment.”