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The outbreak has created new opportunities for payments, and the introduction of digital currency by central Banks may accelerate

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The outbreak has given central Banks an opportunity to push for a full paperless currency, which in the long run could also help them better manage social credit and set rules for currency circulation.

"Outbreak spawns new opportunities for payments, central bank digital currency may speed market launch!"
Through economy

The sudden outbreak of the new epidemic has brought huge challenges to the economic and social operation. All sectors have been seriously affected, and the traditional payment system and financial market bear the brunt. Countries have imposed quarantine and travel restrictions, making it difficult to transfer cash, and there is growing public concern about exposure to the virus in banknotes.

A report from the bank for international settlements, "Covid - 19, the future of cash and payments", noted that Internet searches for "cash + virus" had reached a record high and that the new pandemic had drawn unprecedented public attention to the spread of the virus through cash.

Although there have been no known cases of a novel coronavirus transmitted by paper or coin, central Banks have responded.

The bank of England has told the public that touching cash is no more risky than touching a handrail, door handle or credit card. The bank of Canada has asked retailers to stop refusing to pay in cash. China's central bank has focused on sterilisation and quarantine measures, while India, Indonesia and Georgia are moving towards "contactless" payments.

The bis believes the new outbreak could accelerate the shift to digital payments. One possible outcome: "flexible and easily accessible central bank payment infrastructure, such as central bank digital currency for individuals, could take off."

At risk, the outbreak has catalyzed central Banks to accelerate the development of digital currencies

A sharp drop in demand for cash is inevitable, especially as the epidemic highlights the need for contactless payment schemes in the future. For central Banks that are developing digital currencies as legal tender, the financial problems caused by health concerns could accelerate their arrival.

The bank of England, the UK's central bank, revealed at a webinar this week that it is reviewing the impact of cryptocurrencies on future currency use. Private companies are likely to play a bigger role in the creation and distribution of money, according to experts involved in exploring how the bank of England's digital money works.

April 10 - the people's bank of China held a press conference on financial statistics in the first quarter today. Asked about the central bank's current progress in digital currency, zhou xuedong, director of the central bank's general office, said the central bank's digital currency is proceeding in an orderly manner as planned.

On April 6th the bank of Korea announced that it had launched a 22-month pilot programme for the central bank to issue digital money to check its ability to do so. The pilot plans to set up a pilot system in 2021 to identify the necessary technical and legal requirements to create and circulate new cryptocurrencies.

April 3 - united bank of the Philippines President Edwin Bautista said a novel coronavirus pandemic would bring an end to the country's cash and accelerate the adoption of digital banking services, including the central bank's digital currency.

On April 3, the people's bank of China held a teleconference on gold, silver and security of currency in 2020 in Beijing. The meeting called for strengthening top-level design, unswervingly advancing the research and development of legal digital currency, systematically advancing the reform of the cash issuance and withdrawal system, and accelerating the transformation of banknote processing business, issue Treasury guard and issue fund escort.

April 2 - the French central bank is analyzing how to use cryptocurrency to power CBDC. In a recent internal report, the bank highlighted ethereum (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) as two cryptographic assets that can be used to issue token central bank digital currency.

Under the new trend, the central bank digital currency advantage highlights

The rapid, fair and safe transfer of funds from individuals, governments and central Banks to where they are most needed in an emergency has been one of the greatest challenges posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic and its severe crisis, and central bank digital currencies can help solve many problems.

In addition to avoiding the health risks associated with actually moving money around during an outbreak, the advantages of central Banks' digital currencies include the ability of central Banks to quickly inject cash into households and businesses, allowing funds to be eventually tracked and withdrawn, and even preventing cash hoarders from avoiding negative bank interest rates when they are taxed.

The long term, central Banks need to focus on the legal digital currency to promote social collaboration and value exchange, whether through such a new pattern of technology to promote its economy better and faster to run, such as improve the efficiency of monetary operation monitoring, rich means of monetary policy, raising the level of intelligent in transaction process (especially the efficiency of cross-border payment), an open payment environment, etc., so as to better serve the economy.

From the research and development process of digital currency of China's central bank, on the one hand, we can see that the central bank is very cautious about digital currency.Given that new technologies pose risks to the financial system as well as benefits, fiat digital money needs to build a more robust economic ecosystem on top of the existing one.

On the other hand, the central bank sees opportunities for the internationalization of the yuan,The aim is to further occupy the global commanding heights of sovereign "digital currency" technology and create a new pattern for the original global monetary ecology.

The outbreak presents both challenges and opportunities for the global economic system. Social public concerned about the use of cash payment is safe, tend to be used in special period no contact means of electronic payment, this will boost global research and development of digital currency and use of the outbreak to the central bank to promote comprehensive paperless monetary opportunity, look for a long period of time, paperless currency can also help the central bank the better management of social credit and monetary circulation rules.

Central bank digital currency, through this "epidemic" will be accelerated landing? The market is looking forward.

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