Source · Select Committees · Treasury Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
Paragraph: 52
Digital pound must support financial inclusion, exploring offline payment options for accessibility.
Recommendation
It would be important to support financial inclusion to the greatest possible extent through a digital pound were it to be launched, including by exploring the option of offline payments to ensure accessibility by users with limited or unreliable internet connectivity.
Government Response Summary
The government has accepted the recommendation, establishing a working group to report on offline payments by year-end, and committing to conduct experiments exploring accessibility for digitally excluded users.
Paragraph Reference:
52
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Tackling financial exclusion is a priority for HM Treasury and the Bank. To inform work on financial inclusion, we have established a working group of expert stakeholders, reporting to the digital pound Engagement Forum on the issue of offline payments, and their potential benefits and technical feasibility. The working group will report to the Engagement Forum by the end of this year, and its findings will be published on the Bank’s website. The Bank will also conduct experiments to explore how those who are more digitally excluded would still be able to use the digital pound.