• The Bank of England has partnered with blockchain startup Ripple to test different use cases of its CBDC, Digital Pound.
• The Ripple blockchain has been one of the forerunners for working on some key CBDC projects. Last month it introduced its own CBDC platform.

As per the latest report released on Friday, June 16, central banks conducted a joint experiment testing different ways to connect monetary authorities as well as the private sector in order to facilitate retail digital currency payments.

This experiment saw participation from the London Innovation Hub of the Bank for International Settlements and the Bank of England. Together they developed 33 application program interface (API) functionalities for over 30 central bank digital currency (CBDC) use cases. Interestingly, this also includes testing the use of CBDCs for offline payments.

Francesca Hopwood Road, head of the BIS Innovation Hub London Centre, said that “Project Rosalind” seeks to discover how an API layer would support a retail CBDC while facilitating safe and secure payments for different use cases.

As we know, the Bank of England is already working on Digital Pound, which is likely to be released in the future. The bank plans to create a digital pound and would manage the centralized ledger and application programming interface (API) for it. The API would enable businesses to access the ledger and offer services like automated payments.

In the experiment, various payment methods were tested, including online, offline, and in-store payments using QR codes, mobile phones, smart cards, and others. The project also looked into making small payments easier. The study showed that the API layer could be compatible with different ledgers.

Bank of England Partnering with Ripple

The document for Project Rosalind reveals that the Bank of England has joined hands with US-based blockchain startup Ripple to test the interledger system designed for synchronizing different payments in different simulated RTGs using the interledger protocol.

Also, the Ripple blockchain has been one of the forerunners for working on some key CBDC projects. Recently, Ripple partnered with the Central Bank of Columbia for working on their CBDC project. Thus, the central bank will leverage Ripple’s open-source XRP Ledger for the testing of its CBDC. Columbia also believes that using the Ripple platform will help them enhance the efficiency and accessibility of their payments infrastructure.

XRP is a great digital asset for real-time payments because it offers several benefits. Firstly, transactions using XRP are settled in seconds, ensuring quick access to funds. Additionally, XRP has low transaction fees, making it an affordable option for individuals and businesses alike.

Last month in May 2023, Ruipple also unveiled its CBDC platform which would provide a base for central banks to launch their own CBDCs. It seems that a few countries have already started realizing the power of Ripple technology.