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What exactly is a digital pound?
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Chico99
Posted: 07 February 2023 17:44:35(UTC)
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Strongly recommend not googling "digital pound"...
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Aminatidi on 07/02/2023(UTC), ANDREW FOSTER on 07/02/2023(UTC)
Spartacus
Posted: 07 February 2023 17:56:50(UTC)
#5

Joined: 13/06/2011(UTC)
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low income investor;256668 wrote:
What exactly is a digital pound ?

A way for government to gain more control over the people on how they behave and spend their money.


Way this country is going, everyone will be skint so somewhat irrelevant
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Dennis .
Posted: 07 February 2023 17:57:32(UTC)
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Joined: 26/12/2007(UTC)
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Incidentally in the House of Commons today during the discussion it was said that cash would continue to exist.
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Spartacus
Posted: 07 February 2023 18:02:01(UTC)
#16

Joined: 13/06/2011(UTC)
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Dennis .;256698 wrote:
Incidentally in the House of Commons today during the discussion it was said that cash would continue to exist.


Of course it will, Tory MP's will need cash to continue so they can keep on taking back-handers
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Sara G
Posted: 07 February 2023 18:02:05(UTC)
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Dennis .;256698 wrote:
Incidentally in the House of Commons today during the discussion it was said that cash would continue to exist.


But would its use be limited? The devil will be in the detail.
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Guest on 07/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC)
Macro
Posted: 07 February 2023 18:18:43(UTC)
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Well, I have to admit to being confused by the Bank of England's position on this matter.

As I understand it the Bank of England creates money, but in actual fact, most of the money in the economy is created by regulated banks that create multiples of their own capital reserves through their loan books. So, although the Bank of England is talking about a Central Bank Digital Currency for the Pound - they do not want to eliminate or take over the role of commercial Banks. They do not have the skills in judging loan risk, or the resources to do so.

As I understand it one of the advantages of a CBDC is that you can have much greater variation over the way in which taxes are applied to capital or spending. So, you could have a different rate of VAT on every category or spend, or your could vary VAT depending on the area of the country where the spend takes place. And proponents say that this will allow us to tax luxury spending more heavily, or promote the economy in areas of the country that suffer relative poverty. But, the Bank of England say they have no plans to remove CASH, so the above benefits could not occur.

Of course, they might simply see the existing Crypto-Currencies as areas of unregulated activity that are ripe for criminal activity.

So, I am not sure that I have been told the whole story, yet. Perhaps the idea is to trial it in parallel with CASH, and then slowly phase out CASH. We may come to understand that our Central Bank is then in complete control!
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Sara G on 07/02/2023(UTC), Guest on 07/02/2023(UTC), Auric on 08/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC)
Newbie
Posted: 07 February 2023 18:21:46(UTC)
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Sara G;256685 wrote:
low income investor is spot on...

It's the ultimate nudge system. As I understand it, with a digital £ the government can not only track exactly what is being spent, but also control the money in our bank accounts in whatever way it deems appropriate, for example, by applying negative interest to any money not spent, or deterring / forcing certain kinds of expenditure, since there is no way to withdraw it as cash. Digital cash could also have a limited life, since it wouldn't be possible to turn up to the Bank of England demanding payment of the amount promised (although I suppose that hasn't been realistically possible for some time). That's not to say that governments would definitely act in such a way, but they would have the power to do so.

I'm not aware of any particular benefits to the citizenry, since we can already spend and save electronically if we want to. I suppose the major positive would be the inability to commit fraud by avoiding charging or paying VAT, but I'd hope there might be better ways to achieve the same goal.

NB government digital currencies are not the same as cryptocurrencies. Those in favour of the former are probably unlikely to support the latter and vice versa (although I have not done any research on this).

So if we have a liquidity crisis as per 2008 and certain factions hoard monies the government can ensure that monies are spent so as to circulate it faster without the need to print more ?

Also as someone mentioned earlier in another thread a while ago, they can determine that you have had enough costa coffee for a week and thus need to spend it on eggs or vice versa ?

China implemented it a couple of years ago where the state paid salaries straight into the wallets of employees and they could use it at variety of places such as railways etc. Back then I got shot down saying such a digital wallet/currency could never happen in a modern world like the UK. Then again their decade old counterless stores could also never happen in the advanced economies - oh wait Amazon revealed a marvelous and ingenious idea in the city of London.
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Sara G on 07/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC)
NoMoreKickingCans
Posted: 07 February 2023 19:29:28(UTC)
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Sara G on 07/02/2023(UTC), Newbie on 07/02/2023(UTC), Guest on 08/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC)
Thrugelmir
Posted: 08 February 2023 12:00:59(UTC)
#19

Joined: 01/06/2012(UTC)
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Putting aside all the conspiracy theorist debate.

Digital currency would speed up large value payments. Transactions such as house purchase and sale would benefit. No longer manual CHAPS to process. The solicitor could initiate. Instant clearance of funds.
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NoMoreKickingCans
Posted: 08 February 2023 12:12:48(UTC)
#20

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Oh yes, not having to wait 2 hrs to get your new house keys, definitely well worth digital enslavement and the ending of personal freedom.
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Guest on 08/02/2023(UTC), ANDREW FOSTER on 08/02/2023(UTC), Nigel Harris on 10/02/2023(UTC), J-san on 08/03/2023(UTC)
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