The central banks of Italy and South Korea agree on CBCC cooperation

Banca d'Italia – the Central Bank of Italy – announced on December 5 through its official channels that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Bank of South Korea, the Bank of Korea, regarding IT and payment systems.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding of the Central Bank of Italy, it includes the “exchange of knowledge and information” regarding information and communication technology (ICT) issues.

In particular, it addresses ICT issues related to real-time settlement systems and central bank digital currencies (CBCCs).

The announcement was made at a meeting attended by Banca d'Italia CEO Luigi Federico Signorini, who signed the agreement.

Related: UK Chamber of Commerce Recommends More CBDC Tests on Viability, Risks

Over the past year, both countries have been exploring CBDCs, albeit with different approaches.

In Italy, the central bank is focused on implementing distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based solutions to settle transactions, rather than a wholesale CDC approach like in other European countries.

Meanwhile, South Korea began testing its CBDC infrastructure technology in October. Its pilot includes both private banks and public institutions, technical assistance is provided by the bank for international settlements.

In November, South Korea announced that it would invite 100,000 citizens to try CBDC starting in 2024.

Although many governments are moving forward with plans to introduce CBCCs, there is a staunch opposition to digital currencies. A German politician recently told Cointelegraph that the EU is a “difficult opponent” of the digital euro and that she believes CBCCs are an invasion of privacy.

In the United States, many public representatives have come out against the US's own CBCC. Even podcast host Joe Rogan went so far as to say that CBDCs mean “checkmate” and “game over.”

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