Most promising options for central banks to help improve cross-border payments 2023
Central bank respondents to a 2023 survey stated that linking real-time payment systems held the most promise to make cross-border payments more efficient. This was different from the response given the year before, when CBDC (central bank digital currencies) topped the survey results. The potential of such digital variants of existing FX, such as the U.S. dollar or the euro, was regarded higher in 2022 than other trends. That said, the survey did observe several hurdles remained for CBDC, such as potential legal issues or technical implementations. It adds that "simply launching a CBDC is unlikely to solve many of the challenges that cross-border payments face." Similar concerns were raised about stablecoins regarding the regulatory environment.