CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCIES ARE COMING – AND PRIVACY CONCERNS MAY UNDERMINE AML/CFT

International organisations and academics are warning central banks to take AML/CFT into account as they develop central bank digital currencies (CBDC), although pressures to guarantee privacy might undermine such controls. According to 2023 research from the central banks’ central bank, the Basel, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 93% of central banks are now exploring or developing CBDCs (1). A BIS paper shows that most central banks supported operating a mass-user retail CBDC and an associated fast payment system. It predicted that ...


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