To be able to decide on who should have access to account-based and value-based central bank digital currencies, one must first and foremost find out what is possible with the existing legislation. Must CBDC be offered to everyone regardless of domicile, or is there an opportunity to limit access if this should prove undesirable?
It’s usually good policy to have guidelines in connections with something like the EU’s four pillars, but maybe extended to a more global scale than just those in the Union. The EU’s four pillars; free movement of people within the EU, and thus EU/EEA citizens may not in principle be discriminated against within the EU/EEA because of their nationality. The principle of non-discrimination has been expressed in the Payments Account Directive, which has been incorporated into all countries’ laws via the States Payment Services Act. It is stated there that a consumer who is legally domiciled within the EEA has the right to open a payment account with the accompanying services in a credit institution.
Exceptions may be made if this contravenes the Act on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, or if there are special reasons against providing a payment account (for instance, because of criminal activity).
For natural persons and legal entities from a third country, there should not be regulations other than those stated in Local State laws statutes (such as the Payment Services Act, the Deposit Guarantee Act, the Discrimination Act and the Act on Measures against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) or through international agreements.
The starting point should be that if limits to the access to value-based or account-based central bank digital currencies are to be introduced, then the criteria for these must be determined on the basis of transparent and non-discriminatory grounds.
Account-based CBDC: It should be possible to reject an application for a CBDC account if it were in contravention of legislation on money laundering to allow the applicant to open such an account, or if there is special reason, such as other criminal activity. Otherwise, an application to open a CBDC account must be assessed on the basis of established regulations and conditions, just as when one opens a bank account today. This could include requirements for physical identification.
Value-based CBDC: The starting point should be that the value-based CBDC shall be broadly accessible to both companies and households regardless of domicile. Value-based CBDC should be offered in the same way as cash is today. This means, for instance, that tourists and minors without bank accounts can easily have access to CBDC in this form. Regarding minors, it should be up to their legal guardian to determine when a minor is mature enough to manage a payment device. Potential limitations in the form of, for instance, amount limits and/or limits to topping up should as a minimum follow the requirements of the money laundering legislation.
Anonymous payments are possible with a value-based central bank digital currency: What does the existing legislation say in most jurisdictions about the possibility to offer anonymous payments for account-based and value-based CBDC? The Act on Money Laundering prohibits holding accounts anonymously. It is therefore not possible to hold account-based CBDC anonymously. When it comes to value-based CBDC in the form of electronic money, it is possible, according to most legislation on money laundering, to offer this with simplified know your customer procedures, for instance in the case that the amount that can be stored electronically is lower than EUR 250. and on condition that there is no suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing. However, this opportunity may only be taken if the issuer of a device for electronic money oversees the business relationships and transactions so closely that unusual or suspect transactions can be detected. The possibility for anonymous solutions is largely dependent on what is decided at the state level. The EUR 250 is decided at EU level. In other words, there will be for sure a general public opinion by the people why would the issuance of CBDC not be held to the same anonymity standards and laws as physical cash.
