The International Monetary Fund published a fintech note assessing technologies that could support retail central bank digital currency payments in environments with limited or no connectivity. Covering SMS and USSD, stored-value cards, custom hardware and smartphone applications, the review finds that no single architecture or device can meet all use cases. Central banks should tailor combinations of access channels to local infrastructure, regulation, device availability and user habits, balancing accessibility and usability against security and privacy risks. No fully secure offline solution currently exists, and the technologies have not undergone extensive, long-term testing at scale. The note highlights transaction and balance caps, limits on offline duration and payment hops, staged reconciliation, secure hardware, continuous monitoring and incident response as key mitigants. It also recommends phased deployment and technological and regulatory flexibility, with central banks determining privacy, fund recovery and device-security parameters upfront while retaining the ability to adjust controls as technology and risks evolve.
2025-08-07International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund reviews offline retail CBDC technologies and identifies need for tailored access channels and risk controls
The International Monetary Fund reviewed technologies for retail central bank digital currency payments in limited or no-connectivity environments and found that no single solution meets all needs. Central banks should use jurisdiction-specific combinations of access channels and mitigate offline risks through limits, reconciliation, secure environments and monitoring. Phased deployment would allow security, privacy and operational controls to evolve with the technology.