Canadians barely interested in CBDC with 98% of citizens banked
The Bank of Canada conducted research to understand how citizens would behave in a hypothetical cashless environment toward CBDC. The research paper analyzes the role of CBDC in the potential cashless scenario. The report showed that most Canadian citizens might have weak incentives to use CBDCs, as they don’t have barriers to accessing financial services. In other words, Canadian society has high levels of financial inclusion. According to the research, 98% of the population has a bank account, 87% holds a credit card, and 90% of rural and urban citizens have access to high-quality internet. The Bank of Canada explained that cash is vital to Canadian society. It added that money is needed as an offline payment method for potential emergencies, such as extreme weather or widespread power outages. The paper stressed the importance of the role of the Bank of Canada as the issuer of the traditional payment method, in other words, cash. Finally, the research paper explained s...