The technological shift entailed by digitalisation affects all countries, albeit at varying speeds. Central bank digital currency is therefore something that is being investigated by many central banks around the world. This work was initially theoretical but many have also started pilot studies and tests to learn more about how it could work in practice.

There are also solutions that are not central bank digital currencies but in which private money is backed up to 100 per cent by reserves at the central bank. For example, China has introduced regulations meaning that payment service providers such as Alipay must back their customers’ holdings to 100 per cent using central bank reserves.