Future Infrastructure for Retail Remittances (FIRE)

Every day more and more, retail consumers are using digital payments technology to interact with the economy. This interaction leaves behind a trace of data linking their habits, circumstances, travel, and relationships to a common profile. At the same time, the cost of maintaining an infrastructure to support cash is becoming untenable, as variable revenues fall below the fixed costs of operating that infrastructure. Consequently, cash is gradually vanishing from the array of payment options available to retail customers. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of cashlessness as consumers turned to online shops for ordinary purchases, and brick-and-mortar shops resued cash because of perceived danger. 

Cash has some crucial characteristics such as ease of use, non-discrimination, confidentiality, and control by its owners. Conversely, numerous proposed solutions for central bank digital currency are deficient in these important attributes. Research conducted by our team has established that it is possible to design digital payment systems that possess these cash-like features and are broadly consistent with regulatory objectives. 

If users choose to retain their value outside traditional accounts, they will require personal devices capable of storing and facilitating token transactions. We delve into the design prerequisites for these devices, integral to establishing an effective and resilient payments infrastructure for the future. Our research aims to evaluate the specific design requirements for user devices supporting a digital payment system with these features. This is done with particular consideration of the human-computer interaction, security, and trust properties that these devices would need to have. 

For more information:

Petras – – Future Infrastructure for Retail Remittances (FIRE) (petras-iot.org)