Even in the Skandinavic region there is much talk about electronic money and their uses.
A post i made a few days ago mentioned Sweden and their central bank, i just looked in the paper and on the front page there's a piece about these electronic money. Keep in mind this is a mainstream economic newspaper which as you can see on the front page is mostly reporting on stocks,politics, trade deals and fiat.
Article can be found here
Earlier this month E24 reported that large and important central banks have sniffed on blockchain technology, and looked at the possibilities of utilizing this technology to develop their own currency.
Dong He, who has led the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) research on electronic money estimates that a change from physical to electronic money may be about between five and ten years.
Among the countries that examines this is major economies like Britain, Russia, Canada, Australia and China.
Some things are being questions when it comes to adapting these electronic currencies.
This allows for radical changes in banking and finance, and should the central bank to take this seriously, a change I envision is that citizens have a separate account at the central bank. It is a rather sinister threat to the current banking. They would then still be able to provide these services, but they may have altered radically. I think a electronic currency would mean the downfall of many banks. -Svein Ølnes IT-scientist at Vestlandsforskning.
Ølnes think a digital national currency in Norway will be in place in about ten years, much later than in many other countries.
A distinct advantage of a national electronic currency will be that the central bank will have full control of the money supply, according Ølnes.
Today there is not a accurate number which tells us how much money there is in circulation in the country, but with an electronic currency we will know exactly how much is flowing around, says Ølnes.
In addition it will make payments across borders much easier and faster than today, and the banks will avoid having to hold reserves at the central bank in the same way as today. The cost-saving effects of electronic money is also alluring, as it costs a lot to handle cash.
