Zou Chuanwei: Pathway choices for central bank digital currency - wholesale or retail?

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has multiple design schemes, among which an important question is whether CBDC is wholesale or retail. Wholesale CBDC is limited to use between central banks and financial institutions, not open to the public. Retail CBDC, also called general purpose CBDC, is open to public use. Looking at major central banks' CBDC projects, some prioritize retail, such as the People's Bank of China's DC/EP. Others prioritize wholesale first, such as the Bank of Canada's Jasper project, the Monetary Authority of Singapore's Ubin project, and the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank's Stella project.