Bank of Thailand (BoT) to launch a pilot project to test retail CBDC. According to the regulator, limited-scale trials will be conducted in the private sector.

“The BoT will evaluate the benefits and risks identified during the pilot project to formulate appropriate policy in the future and improve the design of the vehicle,” the press release said.

The pilot project is divided into two phases. As part of the first, the regulator will test the digital currency in basic transactions such as paying for goods and services. The tests will be conducted in a limited area with the participation of 10,000 users. At this stage, Bank of Ayudhya, Siam Commercial Bank and 2C2P will be involved in the experiment.

The initiative is expected to begin at the end of 2022. The tests will run until mid-2023.

In the second phase, the BoT will test “innovative” use cases for the CBDC. Businesses and the public will be able to propose their own retail application concepts. The organizer will hold a related event from August 5 to September 12, 2022.

The central bank stressed that it does not yet plan to issue a retail CBDC as officials need to assess the instrument’s benefits and risks to the financial system.

Thailand has been working on a wholesale CBDC project for several years. In April 2021, the country took first place in the corresponding nomination of the PricewaterhouseCoopers rating.

In the same month, BoT announced its intention to launch digital currency testing for retail transactions in the second quarter of 2022. Apparently, these plans were later abandoned.

Recall that in May 2022, the Thai government exempted transfers of digital assets from value added tax with the participation of licensed cryptocurrency exchanges.

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