Transforming Cross-Border Payments with CBDC Platforms, says IMF Official

The idea of new platforms for international central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) was put forth by Tobias Adrian, head of the International Monetary Fund, in a lecture given in Rabat, Morocco. Adrian thinks that while still enabling nations to enact compliance checks and capital controls, such platforms could increase cross-border payment efficiency and safety. Adrian said, “Our blueprint for a new class of platforms would enhance and ensure greater interoperability, efficiency, and safety in cross-border payments, as well as in domestic financial markets. The cost, sluggishness, and opacity of cross-border payments comes from limited infrastructure.”

Enhancing Interoperability and Efficiency

Adrian provided a roadmap for these new platforms, highlighting the significance of improving interoperability, efficiency, and safety in domestic financial markets as well as cross-border payments. Cross-border payments are expensive, slow, and opaque in part because of the insufficient infrastructure that is already in place. Adrian proposed that the issue of double spending would be eliminated by using a single ledger that was managed by the platform operator.

According to Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF is actively developing a global infrastructure that would encourage cooperation between various CBDCs. According to a Fintech Note from the IMF, the proposed approach would for programmable payments without jeopardizing the privacy of payees. Contracts could be used as collateral, maintaining liquidity without affecting money’s fungibility. In September, Adrian first proposed the concept of a CBDC platform.

Addressing Limitations and Ensuring Government Control

The limits of blockchain technology, such as validator costs, security, efficiency, and privacy, were acknowledged in Adrian’s speech. Adrian indicated preference for a single ledger managed by the platform operator while some support blockchain-based validation. He said, “The ledger would be controlled by the platform operator. The single ledger would ensure there is a unique description of who owns what, so no double spending can occur.” This strategy would avoid double expenditure and offer a transparent ownership record. Adrian also stressed that governments will still have the right to set restrictions on their citizens’ international transactions and put in place anti-money laundering policies. IMF wants to prevent undermining the capital controls put in place during financial crises.

Although proponents of cryptocurrencies frequently point out the possibility of making cross-border payments simpler, free-floating blockchain solutions face stiff competition. State-backed CBDCs are being investigated by standard-setting organizations like the Bank for International Settlements and private players like SWIFT. The impact of stablecoins is being investigated by the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, which is affiliated with the Bank for International Settlements. A report from the European Central Bank also issued a warning against the notion that cryptocurrency might considerably lower the cost of international payments.