Retail CBDCs bring unknown 'consequences' to financial system: IMF director
The IMF's Kristalina Georgieva said wholesale CBDCs, on the other hand, have “fairly little space for undesirable surprises.” A myriad of unforeseeable “consequences” will be brought about by retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) claimed. The IMF's Kristalina Georgieva erred on the side of caution regarding retail CBDCs in a May 1 interview at the Milken Institute’s 2023 Global Conference. Georgieva explained the IMF considers retail CBDCs to have far more room for error than wholesale CBDCs. “We think that wholesale CBDCs can be put in place with fairly little space for undesirable surprises, whereas retail CBDCs completely transform the financial system in a way that we don’t quite know what consequences it could bring.” Retail CBDCs are state-backed virtual currencies issued by central Banks for use by consumers and businesses. Wholesale CBDCs are similarly central bank-issued but are designed to allow