Think tank OMFIF: The enthusiasm of interviewed Central Bank governors for CBDC is waning, with only 13% support.

According to the latest annual Paying for the Future survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), CBDCs, once seen as a promising tool for enhancing cross-border payments, have seen a sharp decline in popularity. The report shows that only 13% of respondents in 2024 support CBDC as a solution, down from 31% in 2023, while nearly half (47%) of the surveyed Central Bank governors choose instant payment systems such as the FedNow service in the United States as their preferred approach for the future. In contrast, Stable Coin has received zero support for the second year in a row, reflecting the lack of confidence of the Central Bank Governor in its ability to enhance the global financial infrastructure. The decline in interest in CBDC coincides with the bank for international settlements (BIS) withdrawing from the mBridge project. Although BIS denies any political motives, this move highlights the tension surrounding the adoption of CBDC on a global scale. In addition, the survey also emphasized the enduring dominance of the US dollar, with only 11% of Central Bank reports reducing the use of the US dollar, mainly due to geopolitical uncertainty driving demand for the US dollar as a safe haven.

The investigation also highlighted the challenges facing the agency banking system, which has long facilitated international Settlement, but is increasingly seen as outdated and expensive due to complex KYC and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. The latency of the ISO 20022 messaging standard may exacerbate this downward trend, forcing Central Banks around the world to explore alternative solutions such as tokenization. Over 40% of developed market Central Banks consider tokenization a promising innovation and plan to start researching it in the next three to five years.