CBDC Design and Rollout Course: Retail and Wholesale Models for Central Banks and Regulators

Programme Summary

CBDC design and rollout, covering retail and wholesale central bank digital currency, is the subject of this five-day training course for central bankers, regulators and senior bankers at advanced level, culminating in a CBDC roadmap and business case for their institution. Many central banks have moved from research to pilots, yet purpose, architecture, privacy and the role of banks are often decided by separate teams. The approach moves from policy objectives to monetary and stability effects, design choices, cross-border options and rollout. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in CBDC design and rollout.

The Business Case

A central bank digital currency changes how money reaches households, firms and banks. Launched without a clear purpose, it can draw deposits from banks and win few users; never explored, it can leave public money behind private digital money. A disciplined design process links each technical choice to a policy objective.

• Policy Alignment of Design Choices: Improves as each architecture decision is traced to a stated objective and use case.
• Financial Stability Exposure: Falls as holding limits, remuneration and intermediation are set against deposit outflow scenarios.
• Programme Delivery Risk: Reduces as pilots, legal readiness and partner roles are sequenced in a roadmap.

Principles and Evidence Base

• IMF CBDC Principles and Policy Considerations: The framework of objectives, trade-offs and policy questions structures Sessions 1 and 2.
• BIS Lessons Learnt on CBDCs: Findings from central bank research and pilots inform the design and rollout decisions in Sessions 3 and 5.
• Two-Tier CBDC Architecture: The intermediated model prototyped in BIS Project Aurum frames the roles of the central bank and intermediaries in Session 3.
• Multi-CBDC Platforms: The cross-border wholesale model tested in BIS Project mBridge anchors Session 4.

Intended Participants

• Leaders who decide whether and how to issue a digital currency.
• Managers responsible for payment systems, settlement and market infrastructure.
• Specialists who assess effects on monetary policy and stability.
• Regulators and legal advisers who prepare the legal and supervisory framework.
• Bank executives who will distribute a CBDC.

The programme serves central banks, financial regulators, commercial banks and payment service providers.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to evaluate the policy case for retail and wholesale CBDC against alternatives.
2. Participants will be able to diagnose monetary and financial stability effects.
3. Participants will be able to justify core design choices from account or token to offline use.
4. Participants will be able to design privacy and anti-money laundering safeguards for a CBDC.
5. Participants will be able to assess cross-border and multi-CBDC options for wholesale settlement.
6. Participants will be able to construct a phased CBDC roadmap and business case.

Programme Structure

Day 1: CBDC Objectives and Use Cases

Why would a central bank issue digital money, and for whom?

• Forms of Money: Cash, Reserves, Bank Deposits and Private Digital Money
• Retail Versus Wholesale CBDC
• Policy Motives: Payment Resilience, Inclusion, Competition and Monetary Sovereignty
• Alternatives to a CBDC: Fast Payment Systems and Tokenised Deposits
• Stakeholder Mapping: Banks, Payment Providers, Merchants and Users

Day 2: Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Effects

How could a CBDC change bank funding and stability?

• Bank Disintermediation and Deposit Substitution
• Holding Limits, Tiered Remuneration and Waterfall Mechanisms
• Bank Run Dynamics in Stress Scenarios
• Monetary Transmission and Central Bank Balance Sheet Effects
• IMF Policy Considerations Applied to Case Countries

Day 3: CBDC Design Choices and Architecture

Which architecture fits the objectives?

• Account-Based Versus Token-Based Models
• Two-Tier Intermediated Distribution as in Project Aurum
• Ledger Options: Centralised and Distributed Ledger Technology
• Offline Payments, Programmability and Interoperability
• Privacy Tiers, Digital Identity and Anti-Money Laundering Controls

Day 4: Wholesale and Cross-Border CBDC

How can CBDC improve settlement between institutions and across borders?

• Wholesale CBDC for Interbank and Securities Settlement
• Multi-CBDC Platform Models as in Project mBridge
• Foreign Exchange, Liquidity and Settlement Finality
• Governance of Shared Cross-Border Platforms
• Legal Tender Status and Legal Foundations for Issuance

Day 5: Building the CBDC Roadmap

Is the CBDC roadmap ready for the board?

• Applying BIS Lessons Learnt to Pilot Scope and Sequencing
• Linking Day 2 Stability Safeguards to Day 3 Design Choices
• Costing the Programme: Build, Operate and Partner Models
• Public Communication and Adoption Plans
• CBDC Roadmap and Business Case Completion

Methodology

The programme relies on case analysis and a policy simulation. Participants examine published pilots and research, then act as the design committee of a fictional central bank, choosing objectives, architecture and safeguards and testing them against deposit outflow and cyber disruption scenarios.

• Suggested activity: Matching three policy objectives to retail or wholesale CBDC options.
• Suggested activity: Modelling deposit outflows under different holding limits.
• Suggested activity: Presenting a roadmap to a mock monetary policy board.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a CBDC roadmap and business case for their institution. It states objectives, design choices, stability safeguards, privacy approach, legal and partner needs, pilot phases and costs, and is used to brief governors, boards or ministries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the CBDC design and rollout programme suitable for commercial bank executives?

Yes. It is set at advanced level for central bankers, regulators and senior bankers, and assumes familiarity with payment systems and monetary operations.

Which frameworks does the CBDC design and rollout course rest on?

It rests on the IMF CBDC principles and policy considerations, BIS lessons learnt on CBDCs, the two-tier model of Project Aurum and the multi-CBDC model of Project mBridge.

How is the roadmap from CBDC design training used at work?

You can use it to brief decision makers, scope a pilot, set safeguards and agree roles with banks and payment providers.

How does CBDC design and rollout training differ from a course on fintech strategy?

Fintech strategy covers how institutions compete with new payment models. CBDC design concerns central bank issuance of digital money and its policy, legal and architecture choices.