The UK government is looking for a CBDC Head for Treasury team #

The UK Treasury is looking for a CBDC new lead as their LinkedIn post reads. The candidate is expected to work on the Treasury’s potential digital pound.

The job was posted on LinkedIN on January 24, 2023. The potential candidate is expected to lead a Payments and Fintech team composed of 20 people. Among the key accountabilities for this role are determining and delivering the strategic direction for Treasury’s work on a potential UK CBDC, as well as steering the Treasury’s project management and approach to CBDC.

Meanwhile, the UK is still considering the need for a CBDC. In November 2022, Jon Cunliffe, the BoE Deputy Governor, said that the need for a digital pound is visible with the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. He claims that the UK “should be prepared to explore” how to achieve the necessary level of assurance equal to that in conventional finance, but be open about where innovation isn’t worth the cost of higher risk.

However, many UK industry leaders are debating on the introduction of a CBDC. Tony Yates, a former BoE senior adviser, advised against it saying that it is not worth the costs and risks, sharing the skepticism of a current governor of England’s central banks.