Thailand’s central bank says it will launch a pilot study of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) by the end of this year.

It is necessary to extend the scope of retail CBDC development to a pilot phase, the Bank of Thailand said in a statement on August 5. It added that real-life applications of a retail CBDC will be tested in co-operation with the private sector within a limited scale.

The latest programme follows tests on wholesale CBDC and a proof-of-concept study for a retail