Digital currencies and fintech

• CBDC in the Market for Payments at the Point of Sale: Equilibrium Impact and Incumbent Responses

  Staff Working Paper 2024-52 Walter Engert, Oleksandr Shcherbakov, André Stenzel

  We simulate introducing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and consider consumer adoption, merchant acceptance and usage at the point of sale. Modest adoption frictions significantly inhibit CBDC market penetration along all three dimensions. Incumbent responses to restore pre-CBDC market shares are moderate to small and further reduce the impact of a CBDC.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Financial services JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E42, L, L1, L14, L5, L52

• The impact of a central bank digital currency on payments at the point of sale

  Staff Analytical Note 2024-27 Walter Engert, Oleksandr Shcherbakov, André Stenzel

  We simulate the impact of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) on consumer adoption, merchant acceptance and use of different payment methods. Modest frictions that deter consumer adoption of a CBDC inhibit its market penetration. Minor pricing responses by financial institutions and payment service providers further reduce the impact of a CBDC.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Financial services JEL Code(s): C, C5, C51, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E42, L, L1, L14, L5, L52

• Familiarity with Crypto and Financial Concepts: Cryptoasset Owners, Non-Owners, and Gender Differences

  Staff Working Paper 2024-48 Daniela Balutel, Walter Engert, Christopher Henry, Kim Huynh, Doina Rusu, Marcel Voia

  Measuring cryptoasset knowledge alongside financial knowledge enhances our understanding of individuals' decisions to purchase cryptoassets. This paper uses microdata from the Bank of Canada’s Bitcoin Omnibus Survey to examine gender differences and the interrelationship between crypto and financial knowledge through an empirical joint analysis.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C8, C81, D, D1, D14, D9, D91, G, G5, G53, O, O5, O51

• The Consumer Value Proposition for a Hypothetical Digital Canadian Dollar

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-16 Martine Warren, Bill Laur, Ted Garanzotis, Sebastian Hernandez

  We explore the consumer value proposition of a hypothetical Digital Canadian Dollar, adoption considerations and the users who would benefit most from this potential new payment method. We employ a design-thinking consultation methodology, allowing participants to interact with research prototypes of increasing complexity to reveal user preferences, constraints and adoption influences.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Accessibility, Bank notes, Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech JEL Code(s): C, C9, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E42, E5, E58, O, O3, O33

• Public and Private Money Creation for Distributed Ledgers: Stablecoins, Tokenized Deposits, or Central Bank Digital Currencies?

  Staff Working Paper 2024-35 Jonathan Chiu, Cyril Monnet

  This paper explores the implications of introducing digital public and private monies (e.g. tokenized central bank digital currency [CBDC] or tokenized deposits) for stablecoins and illicit crypto transactions.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial stability, Monetary policy JEL Code(s): E, E5, E50, E58

• Digital Payments: A Framework for Inclusive Design

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-15 Sebastian Hernandez, Alexandra Sutton-Lalani, John Miedema, Virginie Cobigo, Fatoumata Bah, Munazza Tahir, Danika Lévesque, Badr Omrane

  We propose a framework for designing cognitively accessible payment and banking interfaces through design guidelines, testing and proposed measures to optimize system learnability and user workload. We include, as a case study, the results of testing this framework with users with cognitive disabilities, using a prototype system for voice payments.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Accessibility, Bank notes, Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Digitalization, Financial services

• Ecosystem Models for a Central Bank Digital Currency: Analysis Framework and Potential Models

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-13 Youming Liu, Francisco Rivadeneyra, Edona Reshidi, Oleksandr Shcherbakov, André Stenzel

  This note analyzes different economic models of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) ecosystem where the central bank chooses different levels of market involvement and usage of policy levers. The analysis suggests that there are trade-offs between the costs to the central bank and its ability to achieve policy goals like universal access.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services JEL Code(s): E, E5, E58, E6, E61, L, L5

• Central Bank Digital Currency and Transmission of Monetary Policy

  Staff Working Paper 2024-27 Saroj Bhattarai, Mohammad Davoodalhosseini, Zhenning Zhao

  How does the transmission of monetary policy change when a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is introduced in the economy? Does CBDC design matter? We study these questions in a general equilibrium model with nominal rigidities, liquidity frictions, and a banking sector where commercial banks face a leverage constraint.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Interest rates, Monetary policy, Monetary policy framework, Monetary policy transmission JEL Code(s): E, E3, E31, E4, E5, E50, E58, G, G2, G21, G5, G51

• The Ecology of Automated Market Makers

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-12 Annetta Ho, Cosmin Cazan, Andrew Schrumm

  This paper describes the ecology of automated market makers, which are the most popular decentralized exchange model for the pricing and trading of crypto assets within decentralized finance.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Digital currencies and fintech, Financial markets, Financial stability, Financial system regulation and policies JEL Code(s): G, G1, G2

• The Role of Public Money in the Digital Age

  Staff Discussion Paper 2024-11 Francisco Rivadeneyra, Scott Hendry, Alejandro García

  A well-functioning monetary system is characterized by public and private forms of money that exchange at par as value flows freely between them. A relevant retail public money—whether in the form of cash, a central bank digital currency or both—is a necessary component of such a monetary system.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): E, E4, E42, E5, E50, E58