• Bank of England (BOE) has opened applications for a $244,000 contract to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) wallet proof-of-concept (PoC).
• The BOE answered more than 70 questions from the applicants about the project.
• The BOE clarified that it has not yet committed to developing a sample wallet and will only use the PoC to expand its knowledge.
The Bank of England (BOE) opened applications on December 9th for a $244,000 contract to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) wallet proof-of-concept (PoC). The central bank aims to create a back-end server for a core ledger, a mobile wallet application, and a merchant website. About 20 companies submitted their applications and handed in their questions before December 25th.
In response, the BOE published its answers to the questions posed by the competing providers and gave its insights into the project. The BOE stated that they are using the PoC to deepen their knowledge and understanding of how CBDC products could possibly interact with each other and that they have not yet committed to developing a sample wallet.
The BOE also said that it is currently in the early stages of the project and that the wallet will be used in a limited environment with a small number of participants. They explained that the wallet should be designed in such a way that it can be adapted for use in the future and that it should support both digital and physical forms of digital currency.
The BOE also noted that the wallet should be able to support a variety of digital currencies and payment methods, including those that are not currently supported by the BOE. They also said that the wallet should be compatible with any existing infrastructure and that it should be able to integrate with other services.
The BOE will use the PoC to assess the feasibility of a digital currency wallet and to understand how it could work in practice. They will also use it to gain a better understanding of the risks associated with CBDCs and how they could be mitigated. The BOE stated that they will consider feedback from the applicants and evaluate the submissions before deciding on the winner.
The BOE’s goal is to understand the potential benefits and risks of CBDCs and to develop a proof-of-concept wallet that can be used by the general public and businesses. The BOE also said that they will use the feedback provided by the applicants to improve the project and that the wallet should be able to provide a secure and reliable experience for users.
The BOE has made it clear that they are looking for a secure, user-friendly, and innovative solution for their CBDC wallet. They hope to use the PoC to gain more insight into the potential of CBDCs and how they could be implemented in the future.