Japan to Launch Digital Yen Pilot in 2023

As it became known, the Bank of Japan, in collaboration with three megabanks, plans to launch a pilot of the national digital currency.

The next stage of testing the digital yen will start in spring 2023 and will last for two years. Among the participants are also representatives of regional financial institutions.

According to the regulator, the main task of the pilot project is to test any issues related to deposit and withdrawal of CBDC on bank accounts. In addition, the offline functionality of the digital yen will also be tested – in case of disasters and other emergencies.

Recall that earlier, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda announced that the final decision on issuance of CBDC would be made no earlier than 2026 after comprehensive testing.

So, the first phase of testing the digital currency was launched in spring 2021. In July, Hideki Murai, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, informed that a more detailed pilot of CBDC would be elaborated by the end of 2022.

It is worth mentioning that recently one of the major payment systems in Japan, JCB, has announced the imminent testing of the existing credit card infrastructure for payments in the national digital currency. Technology company IDEMIA and infrastructure solutions provider SoftSpace are announced to participate in the joint project.