The central bank is spending nearly $255,000 to create a digital wallet that the central bank can perform basic functions such as transactions and payment requests.
The Bank of England (BOE) is seeking a “proof of concept” for a wallet that will be able to hold central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Dec. On January 9, the BOE submitted a request for applications to the UK Government Digital Marketplace, a service where government agencies can request services for digital services.
Simple guidelines have been defined on what the proof-of-concept wallet should accomplish, while it is clear that the wallet only needs to provide essential services such as the registration process, ways to update details, and check balances, transactions, and statuses. Of course, the wallet will also prove that it can be delivered to the CBDC, where it will be able to ask for peer-to-peer transactions via account ID or QR code. It should also be able to pay for online transactions. The main components of this project are the development of mobile applications for iOS and Android, websites for wallets, e-commerce websites, and back-end components to serve wallet websites and applications while protecting user data services and business reports.
“No work has been done” on the CBDC wallet, the bank said, and “will not create the user wallet itself.”
The stated objectives of the project are to “identify the end-to-end user journey” as the BOE seeks to “improve operational requirements for Banks and private companies” while making CBDC products “as the vision for internal and external auditors.”
A budget of $244,500, or £200,000, has been set for the five-month project expected for proof of concept, with the BOE to evaluate five vendors. There are no applications at the time of writing.
The BOE has said it aims to launch a CBDC by 2030. The example portfolio supports the BOE’s work on Project Rosalind, a collaborative experiment with the Bank of International Settlements Innovation Hub leading to the creation of an application programming interface (API) for CBDC. Proof-of-concept wallets will also be tested using the Rosalind API. On December 9, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt shared a number of changes to the UK financial services sector, including advice on plans to create a CBDC.
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