Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
OMFIF Podcast: Smart Contracts and Retail CBDCs
Podcast | Dec 18, 2023
Image: OMFIF Podcast
On demand OMFIF podcast available, titled "Unlocking the benefits of smart contracts for retail CBDCs"
Speakers
- Katie-Ann Wilson, Managing director of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute
- Peter Faykiss, Director of digitalisation at Magyar Nemzeti Bank
- Imre Kocsis and László Gönczy, Associate professors at Budapest University of Technology
- Chris Ostrowski, CEO of SODA
See: BoC: Redefining Financial Inclusion for CBDCs
The discussion centers around the concept of programmable money and its potential impacts on the use of money in society. Key topics include:
- The Bank for International Settlements’ Project Rosalind and its significance in the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
- Real-life use cases for CBDCs utilizing smart contracts.
- The technical models employed in this context.
Transformative Potential for Retail Sector
CBDCs could transform the retail sector, emphasizing customer experience, loyalty programs, smarter service contracts, and micropayments. CBDCs, being digital, simplify international transfers and reduce transaction fees, potentially leading to significant financial savings for retailers and consumers. The use of smart contracts in CBDCs can automate processes, especially for big-ticket items.
See: Autonomous IoT Transactions and Micropayments
Additionally, CBDCs could enable micropayments by bypassing high transaction fees, impacting business models like publishers charging for individual articles.
- Enhanced customer experience and reduced transaction fees
- Transformative potential for loyalty schemes
- Efficient automated processes through smart contracts
- Micropayments becoming more feasible
Consideration for CBDCs on Businesses
The potential impacts of retail and wholesale CBDCs on businesses. Apart from the much discussed privacy related issues, considerations for using retail CBDCs in practice, including the handling of disputes in transactions without intermediaries. Central banks might require customers to pay for private sector insurance to cover disputes, which could make CBDCs more expensive than traditional payment methods.
See: Bank of Canada Publishes Staff Paper on ‘Unmet Payment Needs and CBDCs
The uptake of CBDCs, as seen in China's pilot project with the e-Yuan (Also see: China’s CBDC: Offline Digital Yuan Payments via Super SIM Cards), has been underwhelming, prompting central banks to consider how to compete with commercial payment processors.
- Retail CBDCs may involve complex dispute resolution processes
- Potential for higher costs due to insurance for dispute coverage
- Competition with existing private-sector payment processors
Conclusion
This comprehensive discussion on the OMFIF podcast offers valuable insights into the future of money, highlighting the transformative role of CBDCs and smart contracts in both retail and business contexts.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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