Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Bank of England's Bailey says there might be a case for digital currency

Bank of England's Bailey says there might be a case for digital currency

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said there might be a role for a state-backed digital currency in Britain although there would be big implications ranging from the setting of interest rates to privacy.
"It may well be that we do end up with a digital currency. It's a few years off at the moment," Bailey said at a public event organised by the BoE.

The use of cash was falling but creating a central bank-backed currency would have significant impacts on the financial system and beyond, Bailey said.

"Security, that is an issue for us. Privacy, that's a big issue, a very big issue," he said.

Plans developed by Facebook for a digital currency "set off a lot of alarm bells" about access to information, Bailey said.

Earlier on Thursday, Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said he saw good reasons for a BoE digital currency.

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak asked the BoE and other regulators in April to look at the case for creating a central bank digital currency to respond to the challenge from cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

In his question-and-answer session on Thursday, Bailey also said factors that were pushing up inflation would probably not persist, but the BoE would watch the situation very closely.

"The really big question is: 'Is (higher inflation) going to persist or not?' Our view is that on the basis of what we're seeing so far, we don't think it is," Bailey said.

"We think there are reasons to think that the economy will start to bounce back this year but it can't be sustained at that level of growth," he said. "But we are watching it very carefully.... Yesterday we had a very high number for inflation in the U.S."

Asked about Britain's attempts to secure a post-Brexit deal on financial services with the European Union, Bailey said there was currently no prospect of an agreement on "equivalence" of rules for the sector.

He repeated his view that London should not try to get such a deal at any price.

"There's no lack of goodwill," Bailey said. "But if this issue isn't sorted out then I'm afraid we will learn to live without equivalence, that's the reality of it."

Officials from Britain's financial services sector say they do not expect access to the EU's markets for the foreseeable future.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×