Three issues papers published by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua have drawn strong support for ensuring cash remains available and accepted, and for the Reserve Bank taking on a broad stewardship role for money and cash.

“Feedback also reinforced the importance of the privacy aspects of central bank money, and that this should be a critical feature of any potential Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for New Zealand,” says Ian Woolford, Director of Money and Cash.

The Reserve Bank has today published a Summary of Responses to three 2021 Future of Money – Te Moni Anamata issues papers. The papers canvassed issues and options for: the Reserve Bank’s developing role as steward of money and cash, a potential CBDC for New Zealand, and redesign of the cash system to ensure it remains viable for as long as needed and wanted.

“We’re grateful for the valuable views, insights, and ideas on the issues and initial proposals raised in the public submissions,” says Mr Woolford, “which we will factor into the next stages of our work.”

“The summary of submissions describes the number, diversity and themes of views expressed, and how we plan to respond to these in its ongoing work. We expect to be announcing future directions in each of these closely linked policy areas within the next six months, including firmer proposals on some aspects for further public consultation.

“We are particularly focused on progressing concrete steps to improve resilience and efficiency in the cash system. At the same time, while no decision have been made on whether a CBDC is right for New Zealand, we will continue to explore this through further policy, research, experimentation, and proof-of-concept work,” Mr Woolford says.

Mr Woolford says the Reserve Bank will also be publishing individual submissions received on the issues papers once any necessary consultation with submitters has been had.

Anyone interested in following this work can subscribe on the Reserve Bank’s website to receive Money and Cash Policy email updates.

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More information

• Future of Money – Te Moni Anamata : Summary of responses to our 2021 issues papers
• Future of Money – Te Moni Anamata : 2021 issues papers

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