Bank of England to launch 'Digital Pound Lab' for testing CBDC innovations

The Bank of England (BoE) is launching a "Digital Pound Lab" this year, as part of its blueprint for the design phase of a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The lab will operate in a sandbox environment, enabling hands-on experimentation with CBDC APIs, innovative use cases, and potential business models.

According to the BoE’s digital pound progress report released on Tuesday, the lab will provide a platform for collaboration with private sector partners to explore functional and technological innovations. The initiative aims to deliver valuable insights for the UK payments and technology sectors during the ongoing design phase.

"Ongoing experiments and proofs of concept during the design phase will continue to add value to the wider UK payments and technology sectors,” the report said. "The ‘Digital Pound Lab’ in particular being able to provide a platform for functional and technological experimentation with a broad range of private sector partners."

Engagement with stakeholders

The UK's central bank highlighted its efforts to understand the needs and challenges of individuals and businesses through surveys and working groups. It added that these efforts have helped identify pain points in existing payment systems, which will be explored further in the Digital Pound Lab.

The lab will also evaluate the feasibility of specific use cases, focusing on both technological and operational considerations. Insights gained will support the development of a potential digital pound as a platform for innovation.

As part of the initiative, the BoE announced changes to its consultation framework. While the Engagement Forum and the Academic Advisory Group will continue, the Technology Forum will be wound down. Instead, technology-focused discussions will become more direct and detailed, facilitated by the Digital Pound Lab.