BIS Central Bank Digital Currency Survey: Global CBDC Adoption Guide

What Is the BIS Central Bank Digital Currency Survey?

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) central bank digital currency survey represents the most comprehensive global assessment of CBDC development activities worldwide. Published as BIS Papers No. 147, this survey collected responses from 86 central banks spanning 28 advanced economies (AEs) and 58 emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), covering jurisdictions that represent approximately 81% of the world’s population and 94% of global GDP.

The survey provides an unprecedented window into how central banks are approaching the complex challenge of issuing digital currencies. From early-stage research to live deployments, the report maps the entire spectrum of CBDC activities while analyzing the design choices, technology preferences, and policy motivations that shape each jurisdiction’s approach.

Understanding the BIS CBDC survey is essential for anyone tracking the evolution of the global financial system. As central banks navigate financial stability challenges, CBDCs represent a potentially transformative tool that could reshape how money flows through economies, from cross-border settlements to everyday retail transactions.

Global CBDC Engagement: 94% of Central Banks Active

The headline finding from the BIS survey on central bank digital currency is striking: 94% of responding central banks are engaged in some form of CBDC work. This near-universal participation underscores that CBDCs have moved from an academic curiosity to a strategic priority for monetary authorities worldwide.

The activity mix reveals a maturing landscape. Among central banks working on CBDCs, 88% are conducting research, 54% are running experiments or proofs of concept, and 31% are already running pilot programs. This progression from research to experimentation to pilots suggests that many jurisdictions are steadily moving toward potential issuance decisions.

Most central banks are exploring both retail and wholesale variants simultaneously, with approximately 30% focusing exclusively on retail CBDCs and only 2% on wholesale alone. This dual-track approach reflects the recognition that different CBDC types serve distinct policy objectives and address different segments of the financial system.

Retail Central Bank Digital Currency: Design & Live Deployments

Retail CBDCs — digital currencies designed for everyday use by the general public — represent the most visible form of CBDC innovation. The BIS survey reveals that four jurisdictions currently operate live retail CBDCs: The Bahamas (Sand Dollar), the Eastern Caribbean (DCash), Jamaica (JAM-DEX), and Nigeria (eNaira). Notably, all four are emerging market economies.

Key design choices are emerging across jurisdictions. More than 50-68% of central banks are considering holding and transaction limits to manage monetary policy implications and prevent disintermediation of commercial banks. Approximately 75% of AEs and 78% of EMDEs are focused on domestic interoperability, ensuring CBDCs work seamlessly with existing payment infrastructure.

Offline functionality is being explored by approximately 68% of central banks in both groups, recognizing that digital currencies must work even when internet connectivity is limited. This is particularly critical for financial inclusion objectives in developing economies where digital infrastructure may be unreliable.

On remuneration, more than 50% of central banks do not intend to pay interest on retail CBDCs, avoiding potential competition with commercial bank deposits. However, some jurisdictions are keeping the option open as a potential monetary policy tool. The question of whether to require merchant acceptance also varies significantly: 50% of AEs and 43% of EMDEs are considering making CBDC acceptance mandatory for merchants.

Wholesale CBDC: The Emerging Priority

Perhaps the most significant shift revealed in the BIS central bank digital currency survey is the growing momentum behind wholesale CBDCs. For the first time, the probability of wholesale CBDC issuance within the next six years exceeds that of retail CBDCs, marking a strategic pivot in central bank priorities.

In advanced economies, wholesale CBDC proofs of concept rose dramatically to 81% (from 60% in the prior survey), while pilots increased to 33% (from 10%). This acceleration reflects growing interest in using digital currencies to modernize interbank settlement systems, particularly for cross-border transactions.

The primary use cases for wholesale CBDCs include delivery-versus-payment (DvP) mechanisms for securities settlement (50% of respondents), interbank settlement (46%), and foreign exchange payment-versus-payment transactions. These applications address real inefficiencies in the current financial plumbing, where cross-border payments can take days and involve multiple intermediaries, each adding costs and delays.

Medium-term issuance likelihood has shifted notably: 22% of central banks now consider wholesale CBDC issuance likely within 4-6 years (up from 17%), while fewer respondents say it is unlikely (38% vs 44% previously). This suggests that wholesale CBDCs could become a reality in several major jurisdictions before the end of the decade.

Key Motivations Driving Central Bank Digital Currency Development

Understanding why central banks pursue CBDCs is crucial for anticipating the trajectory of digital currency adoption. The BIS survey identifies preserving the role and singleness of central bank money as the top motivation, rated important or very important by more than two-thirds of respondents.

For retail CBDCs, the primary motivations include payments efficiency (improving domestic transaction speed and cost), payments safety (ensuring robust and reliable payment infrastructure), and financial inclusion (extending financial services to unbanked populations). Financial inclusion remains particularly important in emerging markets but is gaining traction in advanced economies as well.

For wholesale CBDCs, the dominant driver is enhancing cross-border payments — reducing costs, increasing speed, improving access, and enhancing transparency in international transactions. The current correspondent banking model, with its multiple intermediary layers, is widely recognized as outdated and inefficient, making wholesale CBDCs an attractive modernization path.

The rise of cryptocurrency and stablecoin ecosystems has also been a catalyst: 63% of central banks report that crypto developments have accelerated their CBDC work. This suggests that central banks view CBDCs partly as a response to private digital currencies, seeking to maintain sovereign control over monetary systems while capturing the benefits of digital innovation.

Central Bank Digital Currency Technology: DLT & Programmability

The technology architecture of CBDCs varies significantly across jurisdictions, reflecting different priorities and capabilities. The BIS survey reveals interesting divergences between advanced and emerging economies in their technology preferences.

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is being considered more frequently by EMDEs than AEs for retail CBDCs, with emerging markets also showing greater interest in programmability features. This pattern may reflect EMDEs’ willingness to leapfrog existing infrastructure with newer technology, while advanced economies take a more conservative approach given their already-sophisticated payment systems.

For wholesale CBDCs, programmability is being considered by approximately 62% of AEs and 39% of EMDEs. Programmable money — which can execute smart contracts and conditional payments automatically — represents one of the most transformative potential features of CBDCs, enabling automated compliance, conditional government transfers, and innovative financial products.

Interoperability remains a central design consideration. Domestic interoperability (ensuring CBDCs work with existing payment rails) is prioritized by approximately 69% of AEs and 58% of EMDEs. Cross-border interoperability, while recognized as important, is being approached more cautiously, with many design decisions still undecided. The challenge of making different national CBDCs work together across borders mirrors the broader difficulty of harmonizing digital market regulations internationally.

Cross-Border CBDC and International Cooperation

Cross-border central bank digital currency development represents one of the most complex and potentially impactful areas of CBDC innovation. The BIS survey reveals that while ambitions are high, practical implementation challenges remain substantial.

EMDEs show significantly more interest than AEs in cross-jurisdictional CBDC interoperability, with approximately 53% of EMDEs considering CBDC-to-CBDC cross-border functionality compared to only 31% of AEs. This disparity likely reflects EMDEs’ greater reliance on remittance flows and the disproportionate costs they face in the current cross-border payment architecture.

Several multi-country CBDC experiments are underway, including Project mBridge (involving the BIS Innovation Hub, the People’s Bank of China, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the UAE, and the Saudi Central Bank) and Project Dunbar (BIS Innovation Hub with the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank Negara Malaysia, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and South African Reserve Bank).

The access question for foreign payment service providers remains largely unresolved. Many central banks are undecided about whether to allow non-domestic entities to access their CBDC systems, reflecting tensions between the desire for open, efficient cross-border payments and concerns about sovereignty, capital flow management, and regulatory oversight.

Stablecoins, Crypto & the Central Bank Digital Currency Response

The relationship between private cryptocurrency innovations and central bank digital currency development is complex and co-evolutionary. The BIS survey confirms that the rapid growth of stablecoins (particularly USDT and USDC) and broader crypto ecosystem developments have meaningfully accelerated CBDC timelines for 63% of responding central banks.

This acceleration reflects multiple concerns. Central banks worry about the potential for private stablecoins to fragment monetary systems, create regulatory arbitrage opportunities, and potentially undermine monetary policy transmission. At the same time, the Chainalysis research on crypto crime highlights risks around illicit finance that CBDCs could potentially address through greater traceability.

The competitive dynamic between CBDCs and private stablecoins is particularly relevant in emerging markets, where dollar-denominated stablecoins could accelerate dollarization and erode monetary sovereignty. For these economies, issuing a competitive CBDC is increasingly seen as a defensive necessity rather than an optional innovation.

However, the survey also reveals that end-user engagement remains limited in CBDC development processes. Only 28% of central banks involve end users for retail CBDC work and 18% for wholesale, raising questions about whether CBDCs will ultimately meet the needs and preferences of the people they’re designed to serve.

CBDC Timeline: When Will Central Bank Digital Currencies Go Live?

Based on central banks reporting issuance as “very likely,” the BIS survey implies that approximately six additional retail and nine additional wholesale CBDCs could be live by the end of the decade. This would represent a significant expansion from the current four live retail CBDC deployments.

The timeline for retail CBDC issuance has actually slowed somewhat. Fewer central banks now consider short-term (1-3 years) or medium-term (4-6 years) retail issuance likely compared to the previous survey. Short-term likelihood dropped from 18% to 12%, and medium-term from 21% to 16%. This moderation likely reflects a growing appreciation of the technical, legal, and operational complexity involved in launching a retail CBDC.

Conversely, wholesale CBDC timelines are accelerating. The jump in advanced economy proofs of concept (from 60% to 81%) and pilots (from 10% to 33%) suggests that wholesale deployments could come relatively quickly once regulatory and technical frameworks are established. The focus on interbank settlement and securities clearing — areas with well-defined processes and sophisticated participants — may allow for faster implementation than consumer-facing retail systems.

For the broader global economic landscape, the phased emergence of CBDCs represents both an opportunity and a challenge. A well-designed CBDC ecosystem could dramatically improve financial inclusion, reduce transaction costs, and enhance monetary policy effectiveness. However, poorly implemented CBDCs could introduce new vulnerabilities, fragment payment systems, and create complex coordination challenges across jurisdictions.

The full BIS survey on central bank digital currency is available at BIS Papers No. 147 and represents essential reading for anyone tracking the future of money and payments.