SWIFT Launches Digital Currency System

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BRUSSELS (Worthy News) – The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) launched a central bank digital currency system despite worries the move would lead to more control over people’s finances.

SWIFT, the world’s biggest network ensuring transactions and interbank lending between nations, connects over 11,500 banks and institutions in more than 200 countries.

It also manages trillions of dollars worth of transactions per day. Nick Kerigan, SWIFT’s chief of innovation, said this system should be operational within 12 to 24 months,

Kerigan said its latest trial took six months and involved a 38-member group of central banks, commercial banks, and settlement platforms.

It has been one of the most significant global collaborations on CBDCs and “tokenized” assets to date, officials said.

Yet critics fear the process will lead to removing cash. While using physical money requires a simple hand-to-hand exchange, payment cards, and smart devices cannot function without various technologies.

If one of these technologies runs into problems, this could directly affect the payments they facilitate, critics warn.

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