KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has no immediate plan to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) either in the form of wholesale or retail.
BNM governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said currently, Malaysia’s domestic payment system has remained efficient to support the needs of the economy and allow real-time digital payments.
“Also, our current monetary and financial policy tools have remained effective in safeguarding our monetary and financial stability,” she said at a virtual press conference in conjunction with the publication of a series of BNM’s reports today.
Given the rapid developments in the payments and digital currency space, Nor Shamsiah said the central bank is currently actively scaling up its internal capacity to support informed decision on CBDC.
“Policy decisions on CBDC will be guided by clear benefits to Malaysia as a whole, while ensuring that the associated risks arising from CBDC issuance are effectively managed.
“The BNM will actively monitor the trend of key indicators that may trigger the need for the bank to seriously consider CBDC issuance,” she said.
She said the key indicators include whether there is a very low level of cash usage in Malaysia that may lead to financial exclusion, and if the privately-issued digital assets used for payments in Malaysia could undermine the effectiveness of the country’s monetary policy.
She said the central bank is also taking into account if the CBDC could be used to facilitate cross-border trade.
Meanwhile, Nor Shamsiah said an announcement on the digital bank licence winners will be made in the near future upon completion of the legal process.
