Bank of Korea launches digital coin

[Anchor]

In the future, this payment method may appear when shopping or having coffee.

Just open the mobile app and show the QR code! Reporter Hwang Hyun-kyu tried out the digital token created by the Bank of Korea.

[Report]

Today, I will try living with a different payment method.

This is the digital currency issued by the Bank of Korea, called 'Bank of Korea Token'.

Like other payment methods, you only need a mobile phone.

After buying bread, I paid with the 'Bank of Korea Token'.

Just show the QR code and it's done.

There isn't much difference from commonly used payment methods.

Let's explore a bit more.

[Supermarket Employee: "(Can I try to pay with the Bank of Korea Token...?) Oh, just a moment."]

[Lee ○○/Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: "(Have you heard of digital currency?) Oh, I haven't heard of it."]

From convenience stores to large supermarkets and coffee shops.

There were no issues with payments at affiliated stores.

The fact that it is a prepaid rechargeable system is different from payment methods, and having to enter a numeric password more than twice is still a bit cumbersome.

What is different about the Bank of Korea Token compared to existing electronic payments like various payment methods?

When buying the same bread, if you pay with a payment method, the payment information goes to the bakery, payment company, and card company in that order, and is settled once a month in the order of card company, payment company, and bakery.

The Bank of Korea Token is recorded on a blockchain-based server, and the token is immediately transferred to the bakery.

Payment methods are like credit cards, while the Bank of Korea Token is like a debit card.

Another difference is 'scalability'.

[Lee Chang-yong/Governor of the Bank of Korea/Dec. 2023: "One of the great advantages of central bank digital currency (Bank of Korea Token) is that it can be programmed. It's similar to assembling Lego with money."]

You can add additional functions to the remittance.

A typical example is usage restrictions.

You can send tokens to your children and restrict them to use only at bookstores, or prevent them from buying luxury goods when providing welfare support funds.

The first experiment will last until June.

If related laws are changed and actual implementation occurs, the money issued by the Bank of Korea will include tokens in addition to coins and banknotes.

This is KBS News, Hwang Hyun-kyu.