Digital pound consultation: User privacy and access to cash key concerns

Responding to a consultation exercise that kicked off in February, HM Treasury and the Bank of England emphasise that no final decision has been made to pursue a digital pound.

Instead, work will continue during the design phase exploring its feasibility and potential design choices.

The feedback from respondents from a range of industries and organisations was largely supportive of the proposed design set out in the 2023 Consultation Paper, while other respondents raised concerns about the implications of a digital pound for access to cash, users’ privacy, and control of their money.

To address these concerns, HM Treasury confirms that if a digital pound were to be implemented, primary legislation would be introduced, and this would guarantee users’ privacy and control.

States the Treasury: “The Bank and the Government would not have access to any personal data and users would have freedom in how they spent their digital pounds. There would also be a further public consultation on a digital pound prior to the introduction of primary legislation.”

Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami, says: “We are at an exciting time of innovation in money and payments, and we want to ensure the UK is ready should a decision to build a digital pound be taken in the future. This is the latest stage in our national conversation on the future of our money – and it is far from the last.

“We will always ensure people’s privacy is paramount in any design, and any rollout would be alongside, not instead of, traditional cash.”

Deputy governor for financial stability, Sarah Breeden, adds: “Trust in all forms of money is an absolute necessity. We know the decision on whether or not to introduce a digital pound in the UK will be a major one for the future of money. It is essential that we build that trust and have the support of the public and businesses who would be using it if introduced.”

In a speech given at a payment regulation summit, Victoria Cleland, executive director for banking and payments at the bank of England mused on the ongoing work to buttress the UK’s real time gross settlement system and the implications for a wholesale central bank digital currency.

“An RTGS service open longer, with more and different types of participants, and which offers synchronisation to a wide range of ledgers, could achieve many of the benefits often associated with wholesale CBDC,” she remarked. “It would deliver our vision of a wholesale platform with more efficient and resilient wholesale payments provided by a competitive and mixed ecosystem of firms. And importantly would not require the creation of a completely new payment infrastructure.”

Separately, a new exhibition at the Bank of England Museum, will will cover such subjects as digital currencies, the lifespan of cash and the impact of banking on the environment. It will also be the first opportunity to see the new polymer banknotes featuring King Charles III before they officially enter circulation later this year.