The Bank of Italy and the Bank of Korea have recently formalized their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on December 5, 2023. This partnership marks a pivotal moment in the exploration and potential implementation of digital currencies by central banks, reflecting a growing global interest in the digitization of national currencies.
The essence of this MOU lies in mutual knowledge-sharing, specifically focusing on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as it supports real-time settlement systems and CBDCs. This cooperative venture is not the first of its kind between these two banks. Previously, they have engaged in joint efforts, such as the collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the International Monetary Fund on a paper discussing purpose-bound money (PBM). PBM, an innovative concept in the realm of digital currencies, enables money to be earmarked for specific uses,…
