Bank of Korea and Samsung to research on CBDC payments via NFC, more inside

• Samsung and Bank of Korea (BOK) are going to collaborate to research on CBDC for offline payments.
• In November 2022, the bank also designed and tested a CBDC program that simplifies cross-border remittances.

Global technology leader from South Korea, Samsung Electronics, has reportedly teamed with the country’s central bank to do research on Central Bank Digital Currency [CBDC] for offline payments.

According to a local news report, the Bank of Korea (BOK) and Samsung today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for research on offline CBDCs. Both parties will investigate the offline capabilities of a CBDC issued by the central bank as part of the partnership.

The MOU aims to test the ability of remittances and payments using near-field communication (NFC) on Samsung mobile devices rather than the internet.

Samsung reportedly acquired hardware certification for the security international common criteria assessment assurance level six. This seemingly encompasses the seven levels of security functional standards.

Samsung also took part in the second phase of the BOK’s 10-month CBDC simulation experiment study. The study focused on the utility of Central Bank Digital Currencies for retail use. The initial stage of the study looked at fundamental operations, such CBDC issuance, distribution, and redemption.

Asian countries engaged in CBDC research

According to a U.S.-based think tank Atlantic Council, there are now 35 Asian nations in various phases of CBDC investigation, such as research, development or pilot.

Infrastructure, cyber security, privacy, fraud, terrorism funding, and money laundering are all issues related to CBDC usage that are yet to be properly addressed and resolved.

So far, no Asian country has completely implemented its digital currency. In Asia, 15 countries are still doing research on CBDCs, 10 of them are in the development stage, and 10 of them are in the pilot phase.

Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand are among the countries conducting pilot programs.