US Central Bank Governor Skeptical of CBDC, “Not a Big Fan” of It

• The US central bank head opposes digital currency issuance.
• He dismissed the idea as a ‘mere checking account at the Fed.
• Previously, India released a report for establishing retail and wholesale CBDC for individuals and businesses.

The governor of the central bank of the United States, Christopher Waller, is once more opposing claims that the US Federal Reserve should issue a digital currency. According to a Bloomberg report, Waller said he is not a big fan of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) idea, but he is open to having someone convince him that it is something of value.

“It’s just a checking account at the Fed,” Waller concluded.

Interestingly, the US apex bank governor expresses skepticism about the CBDC at a time when legislators and the presidency are considering implementing it. In January, the federal reserve issued a discussion paper in a public conversation it described as the ‘first steps’ into CBDC.

Additionally, the proponents of the CBDC idea interviewed by Bloomberg asserted that a digital currency backed by the Fed would ensure the dollar’s dominance as nations like China move forward to create one for its citizens.

However, Wall Street bankers have urged the US to pause the motion, claiming that using a virtual currency backed by the Fed risks depleting the banking system of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Furthermore, the US central bank governor said:

It’s not clear why China is giving their citizens a checking account at the People’s Bank of China, why that’s going to undermine the dollar’s reserve role in the global payments system.

Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), through its Fintech Department, released a 50-page concept note for launching a central bank digital currency. In the report, the country looks forward to establishing a retail CBDC for individuals and businesses and a wholesale CBDC to simplify interbank transactions.