Bank of England considers shelving plans for a digital pound

LONDON: Bank of England officials are mulling whether to set aside plans to create a digital pound for households amid growing skepticism about the project’s benefits, the latest sign of dwindling support for state-backed digital currencies globally.

The BOE has been privately urging the banking industry to instead accelerate payment innovations that could result in similar benefits without the creation of a central bank digital currency – or CBDC – for consumers, according to people familiar with the matter.