Bank of Thailand partners with 2C2P, others to launch CBDC trial

The Bank of Thailand has partnered with Singapore-based credit card provider 2C2P, Bank of Ayudhya, and Siam Commercial Bank to pilot a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC).

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CBDCs are digital tokens issued by central banks and are tied to a country’s fiat currency. This concept is similar to cryptocurrency but is bound to be a less volatile alternative due to government control.

The project will be a limited test run in cooperation with the private sector to assess the benefits and risks and to create policies and improve the design of the CBDC. However, the Bank of Thailand currently does not have any plans to issue an official retail CBDC soon, it said in a statement.

The pilot will follow two phases. The first is a foundation track to assess system efficiency and safety for activities such as goods and services payments among the roughly 10,000 users selected by the bank and its three partners. This will take place starting the end of 2022 to mid-2023.

The second phase is an innovation track to create new use cases through a CBDC Hackathon. Applications for the event close on September 12.

See also: Are SEA’s tech VCs missing out on the crypto craze?