E28 - Ian Woolford on Digital Cash in New Zealand

Ian Woolford has made a career working at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and presently he's the director of money and cash which is overseeing the CBDC or Digital Cash program. The RBNZ is partway through a series of consultations to get public feedback and opinion on a Reserve Bank issued digital currency. 

In this conversation Ian makes it very clear that the Reserve Bank wants cash to remain as close to regular cash as possible meaning that anonymity is preserved, and activity is not tracked. Ian also highlights that innovation in banking by banks has been woeful and they hope to encourage non-bank players to innovate here to provide more options for Kiwis.

Timestamps:

00:00 intro
03:05 rural access to cash & services
08:24 balancing physical and digital cash
10:56 is this a CBDC?
12:21 blockchain?
15:14 benefits of digital cash
19:36 innovation in cash 
24:54 privacy
28:40 banking access for startups
30:22 rapidfire
33:02 fin

Some notes from the show:

• rural cash trial program 
• cyclone Gabrielle cash shortage 
• ESAS settlement 
• Northern Rock's trouble 
• Nigeria's CBDC failure 
• Sweden's e-krona 
• Ecuador's Dinero Electronico  
• RBNZ privacy support paper 
• RBNZ Digital Cash Feedback 

Contact Ian:

• LinkedIn
• RBNZ

Find Jeff:

• X/Twitter
• LinkedIn 

The BCNZ Pod:

• Website https://podcast.blockchain.org.nz/
• YouTube 
• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Spotify 
• iHeartRadio 

Media & Sponsorship Enquires:

• team@blockchain.org.nz 

Recorded at blockheight 842510. The BCNZ podcast was founded in 2022 by Jeff Nijsse and Bryan Ventura.