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Central bank digital currency as a new means of payment: An experimental approach

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  • Magin, Jana Anjali
  • Neyer, Ulrike
  • Stevens, Alexandra

Abstract

Many Central banks around the world are considering the introduction of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as a new means of payment. One of the reasons for introducing a CBDC is a change in payment behavior towards an increasing use of electronic forms of payment. This paper examines the introduction of a CBDC as a new means of payment. We conduct a controlled laboratory experiment to assess how adoption costs and anonymity affect the demand for CBDC compared to established means of payment such as cash and deposits. We use a 2x2 treatment design in which CBDCs differ in adoption costs and anonymity. We find that adoption costs play an important role in the decision to use CBDC as a new means of payment and that anonymity plays a role in the allocation of experimental money between different means of payment.

Suggested Citation

  • Magin, Jana Anjali & Neyer, Ulrike & Stevens, Alexandra, 2026. "Central bank digital currency as a new means of payment: An experimental approach," DICE Discussion Papers 435, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:dicedp:339605
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • E41 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Demand for Money
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior

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