The Monetary Authority of Singapore, International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and more high-profile institutions have partnered to launch a global challenge to attract proposals for central bank digital currency solutions.
The «Global CBDC (central bank digital currency) Challenge» seeks to attract fintech companies, financial institutions and solution providers worldwide to submit innovative solutions addressing issues centered around three areas: CBDC instrument; CBDC distribution; and CBDC infrastructure.
«The proposed solution should be cost-effective to implement while addressing both current and anticipated future payment needs of the consumer,» MAS said in an announcement.
«It must be accessible to a full spectrum of users, including lower-income households and those who are less tech-savvy. The design of the retail CBDC solution should contribute to financial system resilience and integrity, and be consistent with monetary and financial stability.»
Heavyweight Collaboration
The initiative involves a major network of high-profile institutions including the MAS, IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, United Nations Development Programme, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
It will also be supported by Amazon Web Services, Mastercard, Partior, R3 and open source software foundations, Hyperledger and the Mojaloop Foundation, and managed by the API Exchange and Tribe Accelerator.
Finalists at FinTech Festival
Up to 15 finalists will be selected to receive mentorship from industry experts and be given access to an APIX sandbox for rapid prototyping.
The finalists will pitch their solution to a global audience during this year’s «Singapore FinTech Festival» with up to three winers each receiving S$50,000 in prize money.
«Through the Global CBDC Challenge, MAS hopes to encourage innovator communities worldwide to develop and showcase solutions that can maximize the potential of CBDC to deliver efficiencies to payment services, improve financial inclusion, consistent with central banks’ core mandate of monetary stability,» said MAS' chief fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty.
