The Taiwan Central bank staff are working with software engineers to simulate how transactions would be made with a CBDC, known as “Govcoin”.
Taiwan’s central bank has reportedly been working on a CBDC project since 2020, though it does not plan to launch a sovereign digital currency any time soon.
Taiwan News reports that the central bank has been working on a pilot platform known as “govcoin” to support a potential CBDC, though no timelines for a launch have been set.
“There is no point in rushing to launch the country’s own digital currency if it won’t make a better financial system and our life easier,” said central bank governor Yang Chin-long at a monthly monetary policy meeting in Taipei.
“Govcoin” has reportedly been in the works in Taiwan since September 2020. The central bank is said to have teamed its staff up with software engineers to simulate how people would make transactions for services or goods through the government-run digital currency.
The central bank’s plan is to initially allow individuals to open a “govcoin” wallet with their own bank accounts, where the digital currency is backed 1:1 with fiat. The wallet can be used for payment for services or goods.
According to Yang, “govcoin” will only launch when it has proven to be safer and easier to use than its mobile payment counterparts and if it can be shown to “genuinely address people’s needs.”
If the CBDC does not have more strengths than the existing electronic money, it would only become “a redundant option”, he said.
