Digital currency and electronic payment instruments

1. Alipay and so on are only electronic payment methods. The money used in the transaction is coming through bank accounts, that is, the money in Alipay actually corresponds to a banknote, and the digital money is money. In the actual use experience, digital money and electronic payment may feel similar, but they are still quite different in essence
digital currency is also different from virtual currency. For example, the well-known Q coin and the money recharged in various games are virtual currency. These virtual currencies can only be purchased with real currency, but cannot be converted into real currency
in the world, bitcoin is probably the most famous digital currency. In addition, there are "Wright coin", "Dog Coin" and "Yuan Bao coin" in China.

2.

1、 Different definitions:

1. Electronic currency:

refers to the currency paid by electronic means

2. Digital currency:

is a virtual currency based on node network and digital encryption algorithm

Electronic currency: Based on computer technology, it can be widely used in the fields of proction, exchange, distribution and consumption. It has many functions such as financial savings, credit and non cash settlement

2. Digital currency:

e to some open algorithms, digital currency has no issuers, so no one or institution can control its issuance; Because the number of algorithm solutions is fixed, the total amount of digital currency is fixed, which fundamentally eliminates the possibility of inflation caused by the overuse of virtual currency; Because the transaction process needs the approval of each node in the network, the transaction process of digital currency is safe enough

Third, the same point:

the circulation mode of e-money and digital money is two-way circulation

extended data

e-money is the virtualization of the value scale of real money and the function of payment means. It is a kind of money without monetary entity. Electronic currency is an invisible currency based on highly developed electronic technology

the value of e-money is transferred from the consumer to the seller through the sales terminal, and then the seller redeems the money. The e-money held by the merchant is sent to the e-money issuer to redeem the money, or to the bank. The bank debits the corresponding amount on its account, and then the bank settles with the issuer through the clearing institution

electronic money can transfer money value directly among the holders. It does not require the intervention of third parties, such as banks. This is also the essential difference between electronic money and traditional cash card and transfer card. p>

3.

1. Application of different

digital currency: fast, economic and safe payment and settlement; Bill finance and supply chain finance; The real right of collateral is digitalized

e-money: the seller sends the buyer's payment instructions to the seller's acquiring bank through the payment gateway; The acquiring bank obtains the authorization from the issuing bank through the bank card network, and sends the authorization information back to the seller through the payment gateway; After obtaining the authorization, the Seller shall send the buyer the shopping completion information. If payment acquisition and payment authorization cannot be completed at the same time, the seller should send payment acquisition request to the acquiring bank through the payment gateway, and transfer the transaction funds from the buyer to the seller's account. The final inter-bank settlement is completed by the payment system between banks

2. Different characteristics

digital currency is characterized by low transaction cost, fast transaction speed and high anonymity

e-currency is characterized by anonymity, saving transaction cost, saving transmission cost, small holding risk, flexible and convenient payment, anti-counterfeiting and anti repetition, and non traceability

Digital currency can be divided into three categories: completely closed, unrelated to the real economy and only used in specific virtual communities, such as world of warcraft gold; It can be purchased in real currency but not converted back to real currency, and can be used to purchase virtual goods and services, such as Facebook credit; It can exchange and redeem with real currency according to a certain ratio. It can purchase both virtual goods and services and real goods and services, such as bitcoin

e-money: e-cash based on the Internet environment and keeping the binary data representing the value of money in the hard disk of the computer terminal; An electronic wallet that keeps the value of money in an IC card and can be circulated out of the bank payment system

4.

1、 Different monetary attributes

1. Digital currency:

digital currency belongs to legal tender

2. Wechat:

wechat belongs to the third-party payment instrument

3, Alipay:

Alipay belongs to the third party payment tool. p>

2. Different issuers

1. Digital currency:

the issuer of digital currency is the central bank

2. Wechat:

the clearing Party of wechat is a commercial bank

3, Alipay:

Alipay's settlement party is commercial bank. p>

extended data

in the third-party payment mode, the buyer uses the account provided by the third-party platform to pay for the goods (to the third party), and the third party notifies the seller of the arrival of the goods and requires delivery; After receiving the goods, inspecting the goods and confirming, the buyer shall notify the third party for payment; The third party transfers the money to the seller's account

digital currency can be considered as a virtual currency based on node network and digital encryption algorithm. The core characteristics of digital currency are mainly reflected in three aspects:

1. Due to some open algorithms, digital currency has no issuing subject, so no one or organization can control its issuing

Because the number of algorithm solutions is determined, the total amount of digital currency is fixed, which fundamentally eliminates the possibility of inflation caused by the overuse of virtual currency

3. Because the transaction process needs the approval of each node in the network, the transaction process of digital currency is safe enough

5. On the issue of issuing their own digital currency, central banks are always less thunderous. Central banks around the world are considering issuing their own digital currencies to compete with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, but they have been unable to do so for a long time

the media's attention to the central bank's digital currency has increased significantly, especially after Zuckerberg testified in Congress on the Libra issue and Christina Lagarde acknowledged the "clear demand" for stable currency at her first media reception as president of the European Central Bank, which seems to have changed the public's view on this matter, Let many people in cryptocurrency community think that cbdcs is in sight<

according to the latest survey report released by the bank for International Settlements, central banks in the past seven years have been investigating this technology and assessing its impact. Of the 63 central banks surveyed, 55 said they were unlikely to issue cbdcs in the next three years, and only one reported that they were "highly likely to issue large-scale cbdcs in the next three to six years."

although the proportion of central banks studying cbdcs is very high, the crux of the problem is that it is mainly theoretical and investigative work. Only five central banks have concted more in-depth research and real project development or experimentation - but that still does not mean that they will necessarily issue cbdcs

through close observation, it is more and more obvious that both Libra recently released by Facebook and the new stable currency assets have had a significant impact on the central bank. Today's situation took hundreds of years to form, but it changed in a few months; Competition, the most terrifying and unfamiliar concept that has never been thought of before and penetrated into the elite society of central banks, is now knocking at the door

it can be said that the solution to the current situation is still unclear. Some people who are familiar with these things even say that they are bluffing. However, in Lagarde's own words, the slow and wait-and-see regulatory approach can no longer meet the needs

1. What is central bank digital currency<

what is the difference between central bank digital currency CBDC and other digital currencies

CBDC is a new form of currency, which is directly issued by the central bank in digital form as legal tender. The current form of legal currency is cash, reserve deposit or balance settlement< There are two main differences between CBDC and other digital currencies (including cryptocurrency and other forms of central bank currency):

1. CBDC has nothing to do with cryptoassets. They're not decentralized, they don't have to be blockchain based, and they're certainly not anonymous, they're not unlicensed, they're not censored< 2. Contrary to the current digital cash, the operation structure of CBDC will be different from other forms of central bank currency. CBDC has more powerful functions. They are programmable, can generate interest, can be cleared in near real time, and have cheaper handling charges and wider openness

when designing CBDC, the speed of central banks is different. Different central banks adopt their own approach. However, in general, there are three problems being explored: whether CBDC should be based on token or account number, whether CBDC should be batch (only open to banks) or retail (open to the public), and whether it should be based on DLT

when CBDC is to be implemented, things will become complicated, and there are many thorny problems to be considered

for example, once CBDC is launched, does it need to cancel cash? Should CBDC carry interest? Should they have face value like cash? Or linked to the total price index? What impact will this have on commercial banks? What about anonymity and privacy? All these questions need to be answered<

2. Motivation for issuing CBDC

in the 2017 staff discussion paper, the Bank of Canada gave six reasons for issuing CBDC in an article entitled "central bank digital currency: motivation and impact":

1. Ensure that the central bank provides sufficient cash to the public, and maintain the seigniorage revenue of the central bank

2, Support non-traditional monetary policy

3. Rece overall risk and improve financial stability

4. Improve payment competitiveness

5. Promote financial inclusiveness

6. Curb criminal activities

looking back at the bank for International Settlements survey we analyzed earlier, payment security and domestic efficiency are selected as the most important motives of the central bank. According to a large number of papers published by the central bank and other large financial institutions, for developed countries, the transformation into a cashless society is the main driving factor, while for developing countries, financial inclusiveness, cost rection and operational efficiency are the main motivation

throughout the rest of the reports and the literature that can be found, the fierce competition brought about by bitcoin and other innovations in the cryptocurrency instry, as well as the clear need for "one step ahead", of course, are not listed as the reasons for issuing CBDC< The advantages and potential risks of CBDC are very low.

if the central bank starts to launch CBDC and succeeds in the end, there are many potential benefits

from a technical point of view, CBDC is much better than the current form of legal currency. They can be tracked better, collect taxes more conveniently, transmit monetary policy better, have better financial inclusiveness, and rece the cost of procing physical currency

the most obvious advantage is that payment is cheaper and faster, whether it is domestic payment or cross-border payment

in addition to the design and implementation problems, a key problem of issuing CBDC is that CBDC may increase the risk of bank operation. However, this only happens when banks promise that their deposits can be converted into CBDC on demand, which is not necessarily the case, according to the Bank of England document

4. Facts on the ground

how far is it from us to see a real CBDC appear in the market? It's hard to estimate, but at present, we can sum up the current situation in one sentence: all talk but no practice

if we put aside the failed digital currencies of Ecuador, Tunisia and Venezuela, we can only do theoretical research, a small amount of experiments, and issue some feasible CBDC issuance announcements supported by the state in the future

the most famous CBDC projects in progress are: e-peso in Uruguay (the project was successfully tested in 2018), DCEP in China, "project Inthanon" in Thailand, e-krona in Sweden (still in the research stage)...

5. The revolution has not yet been successful, and comrades still need to work hard

considering the factors mentioned above, Most of the headlines about CBDC's upcoming release are groundless. All projects scheled to be released this year have been delayed

in fact, there is still a long way to go for the birth of CBDC, and to convince the public, we need more than a statement. Given the current situation, it seems that CBDC and other cryptocurrencies may not affect each other - at least for now.