Society does not see the point in digital state currencies – CFA Institute
Date: 2023-07-27 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: CRYPTO PAYMENTS, IN WORLD
There is very little understanding among financial analysts of what a state-owned digital currency is
The public has little understanding of how digital versions of government currencies (also known as CBDCs) will be arranged. Reuters writes about this with reference to the results of a survey conducted by the financial organization CFA Institute.
More than 4150 respondents took part in the survey. Of these, only 42% believe that countries should launch digital government currencies.
"Even for our financially sophisticated cohort, there is very little understanding of what a CBDC is," said Olivier Fiennes, a top manager at the CFA Institute.
Fiennes noted that there was a "general sense of skepticism" among those surveyed about the possible benefits of digital government currencies.
Skepticism was most pronounced among respondents from advanced economies, where people can instantly pay for purchases on the Internet. Among them, only 37% of respondents said they support the launch of a CBDC. By comparison, respondents in developing countries are more loyal to CBDCs (61% per issue).
Among U.S. respondents, only 31% supported the creation of a digital dollar. In Canada, 38% of respondents were in favor of CBDC, and 46% in the UK. In China (the country is considered a developing country), the issue of digital state currency was supported by 70% of respondents. In India, 66% were in favor of issuing a digital rupee.
It is worth noting that the thesis of high support for CBDCs in countries where access to electronic payment systems is difficult hardly works on the example of China. As previously noted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2020, Alipay and WeChat Pay alone accounted for up to 90% of digital payments in China. Therefore, it is not clear why China has such a high approval rate for the digital state currency.
The biggest risks around CBDC respondents called system hacking and leakage of confidential data.
