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How are central bank digital currencies different from other payment methods?
Currency and payments have already gone digital. A consumer can choose among many digital payment instruments with retailers, including credit cards, app-based payments, or online mechanisms. So what, if anything, is new about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)? CBDCs give consumers direct access to electronic central bank money. Financial institutions already have a digital payment method based on central bank money. When financial institutions pay each other, they pay in reserves from accounts held with a central bank. But these are only available to a small set of intermediaries, generally banks. The only way ... (full story)