Corrected: BOJ launches forum with 60 firms on digital yen pilot programme

Lawson

20/07/2023 10:49

(Corrects number of firms to 60, not 70, in 4th paragraph)
       TOKYO, July 20 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan on Thursday
kicked off a series of discussions with 60 companies on a pilot
programme for developing a digital yen, joining peers around the
globe ramping up efforts towards issuing digital versions of
their currencies for retail use.
    The discussions will touch on various themes including the
business and technological features of retail settlements using
a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the central bank said in
a statement.
    The BOJ has said no decision has been made yet on whether
Japan will actually issue a digital yen, which must be made by
the government and parliament.
    But many big Japanese companies were included in the list of
60 firms selected to join the discussions, a sign Japan is
moving steadily toward such a launch.
    Aside from megabanks and regional lenders, the group
included electronics giant Sony  6758.T , convenience store
operator Lawson  2651.T , the financial arm of auto giant Toyota
 7203.T  as well as East Japan Railway  9020.T .
    Central banks around the globe have been studying and
working on digital versions of their currencies for retail use
to avoid leaving digital payments to the private sector amid an
accelerating decline in the use of cash.
    Some two dozen central banks across emerging and advanced
economies are expected to have digital currencies in circulation
by the end of the decade, the Bank for International Settlements
(BIS) found in a survey published earlier this month.

 (Reporting by Leika Kihara
Editing by Kim Coghill)
 ((leika.kihara@thomsonreuters.com; +813-6441-1828; Reuters
Messaging: leika.kihara.reuters.com@reuters.net))