Central bankers from India, the UK, the euro area, Malawi, and Seychelles convened at the Global Fintech Festival to examine how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, and tokenised deposits could affect monetary and payment sovereignty, according to medianama.com. The panel, moderated by RBI’s G Padmanabhan, focused on the implications of cross-border digital money and the future of central bank money.
Dr Barendra Kumar Bhoi, principal advisor for monetary policy at the Reserve Bank of India, highlighted that technological innovation should not be seen as interfering with sovereignty. He differentiated between the impact of digital payments within India, which have not disrupted monetary management due to rapid UPI adoption, and the challenges posed by cross-border digital money, which presents significant sovereignty risks. The session explored how regulators can support new payment methods without weakening control over monetary systems.
The discussion underscored the complexity of managing monetary policy in the face of fast-moving digital currencies across jurisdictions. While domestic digital payments like UPI have integrated smoothly, cross-border digital money raises concerns about maintaining monetary-policy control. The panel brought together diverse central banking perspectives to address how to balance innovation with regulatory oversight, reflecting a global focus on the future of digital currencies and payment sovereignty.
The Global Fintech Festival session titled “Driving Sovereignty and Proliferation of New Payment Methods – A Central Bank Perspective” provided a platform for central bankers to share insights on these issues, with RBI’s G Padmanabhan moderating the discussion, as reported by medianama.com.