Central bank digital currencies and GDPR

Following a decade of technological innovation in payment systems, one of the latest research areas is the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In contrast to traditional electronic fiat currency constituting a liability of an intermediary, a CBDC is “monetary value stored electronically that represents a liability of the central bank and can be used to make payments”. ¹ There are numerous purported benefits of a CBDC: inter alia, increased efficiency of payments, financial inclusion, and the removal of trust in intermediaries to honour the value of deposits.