This document is a Consultation Paper issued jointly by the Bank of England and HM Treasury concerning the "digital pound." It seeks feedback on the policy and technical work undertaken so far to inform a future decision on whether or not to progress with building and launching a digital pound.

The Bank of England (BoE) created the money for its quantitative easing (QE) programme by digitally creating central bank reserves. This process is often called “printing money,” although no physical money is printed. Instead, the BoE electronically generates the funds to purchase Government and Corporate Bonds.

UK taxpayers face a significant financial burden as the Bank of England’s Quantitative Easing (QE) program, which involved buying bonds to support the economy during the economic crisis and the pandemic, has resulted in horrendous losses. These losses are estimated to range between £85 billion and £100 billion-plus. Due to an indemnity agreement between the BoE and the Treasury, the UK taxpayer will cover these losses.