The Bank of Thailand also wants to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): it plans to develop a prototype to test possible real-world use cases.
The bank said in an official statement that, before launching the payment system with the Bitcoin Millionaire for all companies, it plans to test it with large companies.
Singapore and China will explore a digital currency issued by the central bank
They partnered with Thailand’s largest cement and building materials supplier, Siam Cement Group (SCG) and Thailand-based Fintech Digital Ventures Company Limited, to test the prototype payment system.
The project is scheduled to begin in July 2020 and the pilot test with SCG will be completed by the end of this year. With the launch of SCG, the bank is seeking a more efficient payment system, with greater flexibility for funds transfers and faster settlement of payments between providers.
China could launch its central bank-issued currency without anyone noticing
After the pilot, the Bank of Thailand will evaluate the feasibility of the system and a way to easily integrate CBDC payments with other commercial platforms.
The bank said it will build the CBDC payment prototype based on the experience of the Intathon Project, a collaborative CBDC payments project, conducted by the Bank of Thailand and eight other financial institutions.
A New Perspective for CBDC: The Public-Private Solutions Needed for Adoption
Main countries analysing the potential of CBDC
China remains at the forefront among countries experiencing the development of a CBDC. While there are still rumors about when China will launch its digital yuan, the country has continuously emphasized the importance of digital currencies and has accelerated its development process.
Recently, the Bank of Canada published a job offer entitled „Project Manager, CBDC“, which means that Canada has also entered the central bank’s digital currency space. The Bank of France also successfully tested a digital euro last month.
