PANews reported on October 27 that according to Bloomberg, Andrew Baile, governor of the Bank of England, said that digital currency will not replace cash in the UK, and the Bank of England will continue to provide banknotes and coins "as long as people need them". Research and development of the digital version of the pound "Britcoin" has begun, but the Bank of England has not yet decided whether to launch it. In Washington, Andrew Baile said that although the Bank of England is cautious about issuing a retail CBDC (which can be used by ordinary consumers like cash), he supports wholesale CBDC used by banks.
On the prospect of a retail CBDC, he said it was “hard to see central bank money playing a pillar role”. However, he said there were good reasons for “central bank money to play a special role in wholesale high-value payments and settlement of payment systems”. The Bank of England is developing a retail CBDC not because it plans to deploy it, but to ensure that the private sector has access to innovation and that commercial banks modernize digital payment systems.
Andrew Baile said: "The need for digital payment systems is particularly acute in the cross-border payments sector, where modernization remains slow. There is no reason to be dictatorial about this." Banks have little incentive to speed up cross-border payments, which could "inhibit innovation."
