The Bank of Japan (BOJ), the central bank of the country, has formed a new team to assess the feasibility of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
The move comes at a time when the demand for digital payments is on the rise following Covid-19 pandemic.
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According to a Reuters report, the team will be under the BOJ’s payment and settlement systems department. Notably, BOJ is already conducting a joint research on CBDCs with other central banks.
Earlier, Japanese government said that it will carry out a deeper assessment on the potentiality of CBDCs in its annual policy document.
China has already ramped up its efforts to support the introduction of digital currencies. Last week, it was reported that People’s Bank of China (PBOC)’s research wing will leverage Meituan platforms to test the virtual currency.
Despite the acceleration by its neighbour, Japan plans to move ahead cautiously given it has one of the most cash-loving population in the world.
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By GlobalDataThe report added that Japan has no immediate plans to introduce virtual cash.
The Japanese government is also planning to trim interbank transfer fees in a bid to support online transactions.
The fees, which is unchanged for more than 40 years, will be reviewed in the current fiscal year.
