Central Banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden Team Up to Explore Retail CBDC

The central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden have teamed up with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to explore how central bank digital currencies (CBDC) can be used for international retail and remittance payments, BIS announced on Wednesday.

The BIS is an association of 61 central banks from around the world and has innovation hubs set up in multiple locations focused on exploring the applications of new financial technologies including CBDCs, which are digital versions of countries' sovereign currencies.

The new collaboration, called Project Icebreaker, involves the BIS Innovation Hub's Nordic Centre, and it will test key functions and technical aspects of interlinking different domestic CBDC systems, according to a press statement.