Latest Leak From BI Boss Regarding Digital Rupiah, Distribution Will Be Done Through Bank Kakap

JAKARTA - Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo conveyed the latest developments regarding the plan to issue digital rupiah which is summarized in the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) scheme.

In his explanation, Perry revealed a number of recent achievements why the central bank needs to take active steps in CBDC.

“Currency is one of the pillars of the sovereignty of a country. For this reason, Bank Indonesia as an institution that is mandated by law in monetary management must be able to maintain currency development, both physically and digitally," he said at the 16th Bulletin of Monetary Economics forum, Thursday, August 25.

Then, Perry revealed that there were also several choices regarding the distribution of digital rupiah. He said there were two possible options.

First, the central bank only focuses on the wholesale side by selecting several big banking players who are mandated to distribute them in retail.

The second option is for the central bank to enter the wholesale and retail side.

“In Indonesia, we tend to distribute rupiah to wholesalers. We are currently in the process of selecting the major banks that will receive this mandate. Meanwhile, the distribution itself will use a blockchain system,” he said.

Perry ensured that all of these processes were on the right track to immediately issue digital rupiah at the right time.

"This is what we are doing, forming a digital rupiah as a legal medium of exchange while maintaining sovereignty, selecting big banks, and building the system itself," he said.

For information, the development of the digital rupiah in the CBDC scheme is one response to the existence of crypto assets that have the potential to create new sources of risk for economic, monetary, and financial system stability.

The majority of the world's central banks have started conducting research and experimental stages according to the characteristics of their respective countries.

In addition, industry support and input are also important inputs for the central bank in planning the CBDC design.

Various central banks are cautious and continue to study the possible impact of the CBDC, including Indonesia.

Bank Indonesia continues to study CBDC and at the end of this year is at the stage of issuing a white paper on the development of the digital rupiah.