Thailand's Central Bank Taps German Payments Giant to Design CBDC Prototype - CoinDesk
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has hired German technology company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) prototype.
BoT chose G+D for the proof-of-concept retail CBDC project, according to a procurement announcement on Sunday.The bank has allocated 10 million baht (US$320,000) for the project, which includes taxes, transportation, registration fees and other expenses.G+D generated revenue exceeding €2.3 billion (US$2.7 billion) in 2020. The hiring of an international technology provider signals the bank is moving in line with its three- to five-year target for rolling out a CBDC. The bank announced in early April that it had begun accepting public feedback on its retail CBDC, with an end date of June 15.Retail CBDCs differ from wholesale CBDCs in that they are digital extensions of a nation's currency, while wholesale CBDCs refer to interbank settlement infrastructure.G+D and BoT had not responded to a CoinDesk request for comment by the time of publication.
UPDATE (June 2, 18:36): Updated to reflect that G+D's yearly revenue was in EUR, not USD.