Sweden's central bank Riksbank has released a report detailing the third phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) research. A collaborative model for retail payments and conditional payments is the focus this time.

The Riksbank started its CBDC research in 2020 with collaboration with existing private payment services as an initial priority. It discussed governance as a key question for collaboration and divided options into three levels. The lowest level was a set of guidelines that risked giving participants so much freedom that “it may be difficult for the public to form a common understanding of what an e-krona is.” In addition, it may not develop to serve the entire population.

The other end of the spectrum would be a Riksbank-operated app where “the interface and range of services for the e-krona would […] be standardised and common for all participants.” It noted that setting of those parameters could have a high impact on innovation.