The Centre of Financial Technology Studies, based at AMBS, has joined the Digital Pound Foundation (DPF) as a strategic partner.
The Centre and the DPF will collaborate on areas of mutual interest with a particular focus on exploring attitudes to use cases related to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and other new forms of digital money.
The Centre will also participate in the DPF's Use Case Working Group, bringing cutting edge research and expertise to help inform the development of use cases.
The Working Group will likewise provide industry expertise to help develop research instruments used by The Centre to further its research - while the partners will also collaborate on round tables and policy outreach on CBDC use cases.
Digital cash adoption
Commenting on the partnership, Professor Markos Zachariadis, Director of The Centre of Financial Technology Studies, said:
"Questions around the consumer and business attitudes for the adoption and use of CBDCs are of the outmost importance for any government and central bank that plans to issue digital cash.
"Our aim as a research institution is to inform policy with evidence, so it’s our pleasure and privilege to partner with DPF in order to investigate further the potential for the Digital Pound in the UK, but also the introduction of CBDCs internationally.
"We hope that matching DPF's industry expertise and network with decades of combined academic research on payments and digital finance at The University of Manchester will contribute to the ongoing CBDC discussions and debate."
Academic expertise
Claire Conby, Executive Director and Operations and Innovation Lead at the Digital Pound Foundation, added:
"As the DPF Use Case Working Group continues to explore compelling use cases for a retail CBDC, we are thrilled to leverage the academic and industry expertise brought together by The Centre of Financial Technology Studies.
"This collaboration enables the DPF to access market insights and feedback which will then feed into our thought leadership and future proof of concept aspirations."
Knowledge sharing
The Centre of Financial Technology Studies was set up at AMBS in 2022 to explore digital advancements in finance. It collaborates with industry partners to provide theoretical insights and practical solutions to help businesses respond to the latest challenges they face.
The Centre acts as a knowledge-sharing platform, bringing together FinTech firms and financial services institutions from across Manchester and the UK. It also hosts conferences, seminars and hackathons which set problem-solving challenges for some of the industry's brightest minds.
The Digital Pound Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organisation that is working on the implementation of a digital pound, and an effective and diverse ecosystem for new forms of digital money.