Sweden's central bank is to begin pilot tests of a digital krona that can work as a complement to cash.
With cash usage dwindling in Sweden, the Riksbank started a project in the spring of 2017 to examine the scope for the creation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that could ensure that the general public will still have access to a state-guaranteed means of payment.
The year-long pilot project with Accenture will see the development of a technical DLT-based platform with a user interface that enables e-krona payments from cards, mobile phones and wearables.
The technical solution will be evaluated in a test environment, in which participants, for example the general public and banks, are simulated.
The partnership is for an initial run to February 2021 but could last for several more years if the Riksbank decides to press ahead with the project.
The bank stresses it has not yet decided whether it will actually issue the e-krona, but the project has gained added impetus with the arrival of private digital currency alternatives to fiat, such as Facebook's Libra.