Digital Dollar Project

The Digital Dollar Project
Retail Cross-Border
Remittance Payments
AUGUST 2023
Table of Contents
Foreword .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 4
Terminology.............................................................................................................................................. 6
Foundation for Future Cross-border Experimentation.......................................................................... 7
The Global Role of Cross-border Payments.......................................................................................... 8
Today’s Inefficiencies Borne by Customers.......................................................................................... 9
The Role a CBDC Could Play ............................................................................................................... 11
Identified Benefits of a DLT Infrastructure for CBDCs....................................................................... 12
CBDC as a Potential Catalyst for Financial Inclusion......................................................................... 13
The Pilot Study ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Objectives ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Roles and Network Architecture ......................................................................................................... 16
Scope..................................................................................................................................................... 17
Assumptions......................................................................................................................................... 18
Approach................................................................................................................................................... 19
Issuance of CBDCs to Financial Institutions....................................................................................... 20
Peer-to-Peer Remittance Payment...................................................................................................... 22
Findings..................................................................................................................................................... 24
Policy Considerations.............................................................................................................................. 25
Topics for Further Exploration................................................................................................................ 26
Refining the Digital Dollar Project Champion Model............................................................................ 27
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................ 28
Appendix................................................................................................................................................... 29
Cross-border CBDC Exploratory Work to Date.................................................................................... 29
The Role of Western Union in Remittances........................................................................................ 31
The Role of BDO Unibank in Remittances........................................................................................... 32
The Pilot Study's Simulated CBDC Network........................................................................................ 33
Tenets of the Digital Dollar Project Champion Model........................................................................ 34
External References.............................................................................................................................. 35
1 | DIGITAL DOLLAR PROJECT
Foreword
Western Union sends approximately $95B in remittances to customers every year. Each of these
payments has a story–a migrant worker supporting their family back home, payment for critical
medical care of a loved one, emergency support for a traveler who lost their luggage, and so
many others. These payments are lifelines entrusted in the hands of providers like Western
Union. For Western Union, our goal is to ensure that each payment reaches the hands of the
recipient quickly and efficiently.
As we strive to achieve money in minutes for every one of our cross-border money transfers, it
is not so easy. A continuing fragmentation of payment methods, institutions, digital platforms,
and national infrastructure adds complexity to global person-to-person payments. Furthermore,
the needs of our customers vary widely–from sending cash one day to using a digital wallet the
next. In fact, nearly 30% of our customers have multi-channel payment relationships with us.
This white paper explores the potential of two interoperable CBDCs to provide seamless
international money transfers from our senders in the United States to recipients in the
Philippines. Western Union and our bank partner in the Philippines, BDO Unibank, have
developed a technology pilot study to test this use case, working in a sandbox to enable these
cross-border transactions on a shared ledger. We want to thank BDO Unibank, the Digital Dollar
Project and Accenture for their collaboration.
Because CBDCs are not all designed the same, we highlight the assumptions and design
decisions we made for this pilot. The customer was the core consideration in making decisions
about privacy, interoperability, permissions, and regulatory responsibilities.
As we have for decades, Western Union strives to bring trusted and reliable cross-border money
transfers to all our customers. Our customers will benefit from a well-designed, highly compliant
CBDC. This white paper shares the benefits we have seen and the remaining questions.
Kevin Mole Patrick Schumacher

Head of Global Digital Assets Head of Foreign Exchange and International Treasury
Foreword
Remittances have always been a major contributor to the Philippines’ GDP and play a crucial
role in sustaining our economy. However, traditional remittance channels face challenges
associated with speed and high cost, making it difficult for some Filipino families to receive
timely financial support.
BDO Unibank is the largest bank in the Philippines, and BDO Remit is the global remittance
service brand that caters to the overseas Filipino segment. BDO Remit extends beyond
facilitating remittance transactions by constantly innovating to help our customers meet their
financial needs.
To fulfill this objective, BDO Unibank joined the Digital Dollar Project, Western Union, and
Accenture to explore the potential benefits of a digital dollar and PHP CBDC for retail cross-
border transactions. Our goal was to provide policymakers, other industry leaders, and the
general public with a better understanding of the possible opportunities the central bank digital
currencies present in the cross-border remittance landscape.
While digital currencies are still a relatively new and evolving technology, it transforms how we
think about remittances and financial inclusion. Based on this study, we observed that CBDCs
have the potential to offer a new way to send remittances across borders faster and cost-
efficiently and provide immediate settlement between parties—all of which are crucial to cross-
border remittances for our customers.
As the Central Bank of the Philippines’ top bank awardee for generating the largest overseas
Filipino remittances since 2008, BDO Unibank is honored to have explored this possibility in
partnership with Western Union, the Digital Dollar Project, and Accenture. This white paper
summarizes our findings and presents a series of considerations for industry leaders and
policymakers to consider as CBDC development continue worldwide.
Geneva Gloria Ferdinand Bacungan

Senior Vice President, Senior Vice President, Head of Business
Head of Remittances Development for Remittances
Foreword
The Digital Dollar Project is a non-profit organization devoted to catalyzing research and
experimentation of the potential advantages and challenges of a U.S. CBDC. In 2021, the Digital
Dollar Project launched a series of exploratory pilots that apply a CBDC to a range of real-world
use cases and has outlined and scoped a series of retail CBDC tests. This pilot study is the first
deliverable in a series of retail CBDC experiments.
This pilot, the first private sector-initiated experiment intended to inform the retail application of
a potential U.S. CBDC, is a prime example of how the Digital Dollar Project works with industry
stakeholders to bring a broad range of viewpoints to the exploration of a digital dollar. As
outlined in this report, the pilot study demonstrates the ability of a simulated digital dollar,
transacted on a DLT-based network, to lay the architectural foundation for a cross-border
payments ecosystem. It confirms how a robust, secure and efficient cross-border payments
settlement process working with a potential U.S. CBDC could provide benefits to improve
transaction speed and efficiency, reduce risk and cost, and enhance customer experience
through visibility of transactions. Understanding the impact of CBDC technology on this critical
aspect of financial market infrastructure is imperative to the evolution of the U.S. payments
system.
Through public-private partnerships, we can most effectively explore the many technical and
policy dependencies and implications in the design of a CBDC, particularly for a retail digital
dollar which ultimately measures trust between financial institutions, government, and the
people. The Digital Dollar Project wishes to thank Western Union and BDO Unibank for their pilot
leadership and offers this report as a resource to inform this critical public policy discussion.
The Digital Dollar Project Board of Directors
The Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo Jennifer Lassiter Charles Giancarlo

Executive Chairman Executive Director
Daniel Gorfine David Treat Elizabeth Gray

Executive Summary
This white paper explores how a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could mitigate retail
customers’ challenges when sending remittances across borders. Today, these transactions
– a lifeline for many individuals worldwide and a key component of the domestic and global
economy – are complicated by various challenges, including multi-party risk, limited
interoperability, and a lack of transaction transparency. These challenges disproportionately
impact un- and under-banked individuals and families and are largely caused by fragmented
systems and varying jurisdictional rules and regulations.
To examine how CBDCs can address these challenges, Western Union and BDO Unibank, Inc,
partnered with the Digital Dollar Project and Accenture to conduct a pilot study focused on
whether and how a simulated retail United States CBDC (U.S. CBDC) or digital dollar, could
improve remittances in the U.S.-Philippines corridor – one of the busiest corridors globally.
Retail CBDCs, digital versions of a country’s fiat currency available for everyday transactions,
could significantly enhance cross-border payments' speed and efficiency. Distributed ledger
technology (DLT) has the potential to reduce risk, optimize cost, enhance the customer
experience, and improve the visibility of the state of transactions.
The pilot study found that CBDCs may improve remittance processing by settling a peer-to-
peer payment in less than ten seconds, a significant improvement over most settlement
mechanisms. A key driver behind this was atomic settlement, which reduced counterparty
risk and optimized liquidity via streamlined foreign exchange (FX) spot orders and multi-party
settlement. While the pre-funding model adopted by money transfer operators (MTOs) today
ensures overnight liquidity for daily operations, opportunities exist to further maximize
liquidity utilization.
Overall, this pilot study demonstrated that rather than displacing the service offerings of
established financial institutions providing cross-border remittance services, CBDCs present
an opportunity to modernize operational processes and expand financial access. Several
topics have been identified for future experimentation, a critical next step to enable this
vision: Inclusive Identity Attestation Models, Privacy for Cross-border Transactions, and Multi-
Network Cross-border Interoperability.
This pilot study explored two process components to analyze impacts and identify benefits:
1. Issuance of CBDCs to financial institutions and their customers to lay the

architectural foundation for a CBDC-based cross-border payments ecosystem
2. Peer-to-peer remittances to demonstrate the benefits of using a tokenized

form of the US dollar and Philippine Peso (PHP) to the end customer
Outcomes
The pilot study uncovered four primary benefits of retail CBDCs in the context of cross-border
remittances:
Reduced Risk: Instant settlement across multiple currencies reduces counterparty

and credit risk for customers and their financial institutions.
Optimized Cost: CBDC settlement allows for transferring value and message in a
single transaction, settled atomically, alleviating the cost of capital held in pre-
funded accounts.
Enhanced Customer Experience: A CBDC increases the accessibility and

portability of central bank money in a digital form to benefit the unbanked and
underbanked. A verified digital wallet helps reduces fraud, enables faster
settlement, harmonizes jurisdictional requirements, and reduces failed
transactions.
Improved Visibility: Using a permissioned ledger provides institutions and their

customers with enhanced visibility into the stage of a transaction, which bolsters
customer trust.
This pilot study demonstrated how retail CBDCs may alleviate certain current challenges
customers face in cross-border remittance transactions; however, to fully understand the
impact of CBDCs in the cross-border context, further research and experimentation are needed,
ideally in the form of transparent public-private partnerships. This experiment is the first step in
a long journey to advance public discussion and consideration of the benefits and challenges
of CBDCs for cross-border remittances.
The Global Role of

Terminology
Cross-border Payments
An important foundational component of this pilot study was using common terminology and
aligning on universally consistent definitions during the experiment. This report uses the
following terms and abbreviations for ease and convenience.
A settlement method that is often defined as including simultaneous and instant

properties when transacting cash, securities, or other assets. This method can
Atomic Settlement
group multiple transactions into a single batch to ensure that all legs are
successfully settled or none of them are settled at all.
A fiat currency that is digitally issued by the government’s central bank,

Central Bank Digital
possessing the same legal status as physical bank notes, and being fully
Currency (CBDC)
fungible with central bank notes and coins (or cash) and reserves.
An atomic settlement method commonly used in securities transactions. It

Delivery-versus-
ensures that two or more legs of a transaction (e.g., cash and security) occur if
Payment (DvP)
and only if the corresponding payment is completed simultaneously.
Distributed Ledger A decentralized digital system for recording transactions, typically on a shared
Technology (DLT) ledger, between parties in multiple places simultaneously.
An atomic settlement method commonly used in foreign exchange transactions

Payment-versus-
ensures that a payment (typically a currency) is delivered if and only if the
Payment (PvP)
corresponding payment is completed.
Remittance The retail transfer of money from one individual to another, usually across
Payment borders for personal or family reasons.
A digital form of national currency, issued and controlled by a central bank,

Retail CBDC
accessible to the general public for retail transactions. This pilot study often
(rCBDC)
refers to a digital dollar, which in this context is a rCBDC.
The act of digitally representing information in a unique manner on a technology

Tokenization
system, typically a distributed ledger.
Wholesale CBDC A digital form of national currency, issued and controlled by a central bank,
(wCBDC) designed for financial institutions and interbank transactions.
Foundation for Future Cross-

border Experimentation
Exploration of a retail digital dollar requires a prudent approach to understanding the potential
impacts and benefits on a wide set of stakeholders, including the general public. In contrast
to wholesale banking, where wholesale CBDC (wCBDC) may play a crucial role in driving
efficiencies for institutional transactions (bank-to-bank), a proposed retail CBDC (rCBDC) as a
tokenized US dollar necessitates a multi-phased approach to ensure that insights are
captured, understood, and accounted for at each step of the roadmap while continuously
prioritizing the safety and protection of the individual end user.
This rCBDC pilot study identified and tested the foundational elements for experimentation on
one of the most important retail applications of digital money: cross-border remittances for
family and loved ones. The conceptual roadmap below recommends three key phases that
experimentation should pursue when building upon the findings of this pilot study:
01 02 03
FOUNDATIONAL CORRIDOR CUSTOMER

ELEMENTS COMPLIANCE VALIDATION
Establish the core elements of Configure the platform to support Engage with end customers to
cross-border remittances: corridor-specific requirements: confirm features and benefits:
CBDC Issuance KYC/AML Improved Accessibility
Treasury Management Fraud Management Increased Transaction
Transaction Management Transaction Compliance Visibility
Hosted Customer Wallets Identity Management Reduced Customer Cost
Currency Exchange Currency Liquidity
THIS PILOT STUDY

The Global Role of

Cross-border Payments
Remittance payments, which involve transferring money from one individual to another,
typically across borders for personal or family reasons, play a critical role in the domestic and
global economy. Although individual remittances are low in relative value (between $200 to
$300 per transaction), the cumulative value of such payments is significant and continues to
grow. According to the World Bank, global remittances were estimated to have grown by 5%
in 2022, reaching $626 billion, despite slowing economic activity. Remittance payments are
frequently utilized by citizens and noncitizens alike in the United States.1 In 2021, the total
value of remittance payment outflow from the United States reached a record high of over
$74 billion. 2
Retail remittance payments are often a primary source of income for recipients, making
financial inclusion, accessibility, and security critical considerations. In emerging market
economies, these payments often amount to a significant part of a country’s income and
contribute to economic growth by fostering increased trade linkages and investments.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 7% of all U.S. households and
one in four foreign-born noncitizen households used money transfer services from
companies like Western Union, often to send cross-border remittances. Among households
that used nonbank money transfer services, which predominantly include underserved
communities and foreign households, and those where members do not possess a high
school diploma, approximately 40% of total transactions involved sending or receiving
international remittances.3
1 World Bank Group, Remittances Grow 5% in 2022, Despite Global Headwinds

2 Statista Research Department, Leading Countries Worldwide, by Value of Migrant Remittance Outflows in 2021
3 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 2021 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
Today’s Inefficiencies
Borne by Customers
The Philippines is Asia's second-largest recipient of remittance payments, having received

$36 billion in such payments in 2022, which represents approximately 8.9% of its GDP. Of the
total amount of remittances, over 90% of these payments were made in cash.4 Nearly three in
four Filipino consumers receive money once a month or more, while 77% send money at the
same pace. This frequency increases during special and festive occasions, as reported by
19% of receivers.5
These remittance payments hold immense significance as a critical financial lifeline for many
individuals and families. However, the cost of sending remittance from the United States to
the Philippines typically amounts to 4.4% of the total transaction value and 7.98% for bank
account transfers for a $200 transaction in Q4 2022, posing a significant burden for many
families.6 While lower fees would greatly benefit these households, it's important to
acknowledge that many of these costs are inherent in today's financial infrastructure required
to ensure compliant and secure global money transfers.
Among remittance services providers (RSPs), MTOs rank most important, following
commercial banks. Notably, cash transactions facilitated by MTOs, banks, or other regulated
remittance service providers were reported as the most widely used payment instrument for
remittances by 49% of the surveyed economies.7 While MTOs play a significant role in the
remittance ecosystem, they face high costs associated with complying with corridor- and
channel-specific regulations, and these costs escalate as MTOs expand their global network
to serve additional payment corridors. To ensure secure global money transfers, MTOs must
collaborate with a network of intermediaries, including correspondent banks and an agent
network. Additionally, a typical remittance transaction often includes fees related to payment
operators, correspondent banking liquidity, compliance, currency exchange costs, network
management, and operational overhead associated with maintaining an international network
of agents and banking relationships.
4 Philstar Global, Remittances Hit Record High of $36.1 Billion in 2022

5 Western Union, Western Union Global Money Transfer Index: The Middle East and Asia Pacific Series Uncovering consumer
expectations of the remittance industry
6 The World Bank, Sending Money from the United States to the Philippines
7 The World Bank, Payment Systems Worldwide
In addition to reducing costs, enhancing the customer experience involves two other crucial
aspects: providing clear visibility into the progress of a remittance payment and expediting
settlement times. One significant challenge customers face is the need for more visibility
regarding the status of their remittance when sending money across borders, which often
requires a long chain of intermediaries. Despite efforts by modern systems to address such
complexities, instances of unnecessary flagging, payment reversals, and system glitches still
arise, greatly affecting the payment experience. Furthermore, in the case of telegraphic
transfers, representing a small percentage of overall remittances today, settlement times can
take up to two days.
Another area of friction for customers relates to limited access to financial services. Globally,
approximately 1.4 billion people remain unbanked.8 As of 2021, an estimated 5.9 million
American households were “unbanked,” meaning no household member had a checking or
savings account. Another 18.7 million Americans were “underbanked,” meaning that while
they had a checking or savings account with a bank, they relied heavily on products used by
unbanked households, such as check cashing, rent-to-own services, and international
remittances.9 Individuals may be unbanked for many reasons, including a lack of official proof
of identity, a lack of access to banking services in their region, or simply a function of
personal preference. For example, the number of correspondent banks, which play a critical
role in facilitating cross-border payments, fell by 22% between 2011 and 2019, even though
the value of payments increased.10 This gradual decline inevitably reduces overall accessibility
to regulated financial services for customers worldwide. In fact, the BIS warned of an
increase in the use of "shadow payments" (e.g., cryptocurrencies) for cross-border payments
due to this decline in correspondent banking.11MTOs allow those without a bank account to
access an international network of banks and agents for global money transfers.
Moreover, there is a need for more trust in digital money transfer services among customers.
Approximately 23% of regular money recipients and 31% of senders cite this as their main
reason for not using digital transfers. To address this issue, the Philippine government is
actively promoting digital connectivity strategies as part of its broader National Strategy for
Financial Inclusion, aiming to instill consumer confidence. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the
Philippines Central Bank, aims to drive 50% of transactions to digital channels by the end of
2023.12 The ability to choose the money transfer method remains crucial for customers,
underscoring the importance of a digital dollar-backed model that delivers a positive
customer experience.
8 Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, Banks' Financial Inclusion Initiatives Are Too Narrow
9 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 2021 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households
10 Bank for International Settlement, New correspondent banking data - the decline continues at a slower pace
11 Bank for International Settlements, International banking and financial market developments
12 Western Union, Western Union Global Money Transfer Index: The Middle East and Asia Pacific Series Uncovering consumer
expectations of the remittance industry
The Role a CBDC Could Play

There is a growing body of work evaluating the potential for CBDCs to improve cross-
border payments, with a consensus forming that tokenized CBDCs can improve the speed
and lower the cost of remittance payments. While much of the existing work has primarily
focused on solutions at the wholesale level, this pilot study seeks to contribute to the
literature by examining the potential benefits of retail CBDCs for consumers engaging in
transactions between the United States and the Philippines.
As noted, one of the drivers of costs in remittance payments is the need for intermediaries
to fulfill cross-border payments compliantly. DLT offers advantages for remittances
through peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions, atomic settlement, and enhanced transparency. In
this pilot study, DLT allowed for the design of a simulated rCBDC as a P2P tokenized
bearer instrument, much like physical cash, which is the preferred payment instrument for
remittances. Customer transactions proceeded with fewer intermediaries, improving speed
and efficiency and reducing costs.
Importantly, DLT-based systems can help financial institutions achieve the remittance
targets the Financial Stability Board (FSB) set forth in October 2021.13, 14 The FSB has
defined four targets for remittances: (1) Cost – driving substantial cost improvements by
reducing frictions in remittance markets,15 (2) Speed – encouraging service providers to
process 75% of remittance payments so that recipients have funds available within one
hour of payment initiation, (3) Access – enabling the vast majority of adults globally who
send/receive remittances to make cross-border payments through services that conduct
proper AML/CFT checks, and (4) Transparency – minimizing data requirements for cross-
border remittances. This pilot study considered these targets established by the FSB and
other standard-setting bodies to enhance cross-border payments.
13 The FSB coordinates at the international level the work of national financial authorities and international standard-setting bodies in
order to develop and promote the implementation of effective regulatory, supervisory and other financial sector policies.
14 For further discussion on the cross-border payments targets set forth by the FSB, see Targets for Addressing the Four Challenges of
Cross-Border Payments (2021)
15 Remittance fees vary by region; however, they are generally higher in cost than other payments. The vast majority of remittances are
sent to emerging economies, which often have frictions, such as volatile currencies, many intermediaries, and legacy systems.
Identified Benefits of a DLT

Infrastructure for CBDCs
Tokenized Digital Dollars
One of the key benefits of a CBDC is its ability to function as a bearer instrument, enabling
settlement finality. Transactions typically involve two components: the transfer of messages
and the transfer of value. While existing financial infrastructure can send messages globally
within seconds (transfer of message), settlement finality (transfer of value) relies upon the
correspondent banking system. This delay in the transfer of value introduced counterparty
and credit risk in the context of remittance processing, as it is reliant on a set of
correspondent banks to settle using intraday liquidity. By utilizing a tokenized digital dollar as
a bearer instrument, both messages and value can be transferred simultaneously between
parties, reducing settlement risk and dependence on large pre-funded accounts.
Atomic Settlement
Another benefit of DLT is atomic settlement, which refers to a settlement process where
multiple transactions are settled as a single unit. This means that either all the transactions
are successfully settled or none of them are settled at all, effectively eliminating counterparty
and credit risk. Atomic settlement reduces the risk of incomplete or inconsistent settlements.
During this pilot study, two forms of atomic settlement were observed: Delivery-versus-
Payment (DvP) and Payment-versus-Payment (PvP).
DvP ensures that the delivery of an asset occurs if and only if the corresponding payment
is completed simultaneously. DvP was observed when central banks distributed CBDC to
financial institutions in exchange for pledged digital collateral.
PvP ensures that the payment is delivered if and only if the corresponding payment is
made. PvP was observed during FX orders on the decentralized liquidity exchange (DEX),
where Western Union purchases PHP CBDC with digital dollars.
Distributed Technology Architecture

The architectural nature of DLT is crucial to recognize when considering the benefits that a
CBDC can bring, particularly the potential to transition toward distributed networks within a
controlled and governable environment. As observed through the issuance of CBDC to
financial institutions and their customers, distributed networks enable the streamlining of
intermediaries and the facilitation of P2P transactions. By onboarding entities onto a shared
ledger, there is a reduced need to reconcile books. The availability of a DEX can foster a
competitive open market for currency pair exchanges, which may reduce FX costs.
CBDC as a Potential Catalyst

for Financial Inclusion
rCBDCs could be one catalyst for financial inclusion, whereby the availability of a secure
digital settlement medium may reduce costs and improve the availability of banking. As such,
the focus should turn to deepening experimentation through public-private partnerships and
regulatory and policy discussions to determine how to maximize a digital dollar's potential to
widen financial inclusion for the cross-border remittances use case and beyond.
One area where CBDCs could complement existing efforts is the digitalization of banking,
thereby removing the physical barriers to accessing internet-enabled computer and telephone
banking. Recent years have witnessed the growing popularity of digital banks and fintechs,
capturing nearly half (47%) of all new checking accounts opened in 2023. Non-traditional
routes are increasingly favored by younger generations, with over a third of Gen Zers and
Millennials, considering a fintech or digital bank as their primary checking account provider.16
Many of the changes in the financial services landscape can be attributed to the increased
payment optionality available and improved accessibility for individuals across all
socioeconomic levels.
As noted during testimony from a Columbia Business School Adjunct Professor before the
Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, in the context of
stablecoins, opening a digital wallet can be far faster than opening a bank account because
of less stringent requirements for customer onboarding. While a digital dollar infrastructure
will likely require additional steps such as identity verification to create a digital wallet, a
CBDC digital wallet should also aim to produce an easy and accessible customer onboarding
experience in a compliant and secure manner. 17, 18
Digital wallets could be central to increasing financial inclusion by addressing key reasons
people remain unbanked. One of the biggest barriers to inclusion is the need for official proof
of identity, often required to open a bank account. Digital identity frameworks developed by
states and private entities could complement the adoption of CBDCs and help solve this
problem.19 An example of early-stage research can be observed in projects such as Estonia's
e-ID, which aims to ensure that all Estonians have a state-issued digital identity accessible
through mobile phones or Smart-ID applications.20
16 Cornerstone Advisors, Banking and Fintech in 2022: A Recap of Cornerstone Advisor Research
17 U.S. House of Representatives, Testimony of J. Austin Campbell before the U.S. Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology
and Inclusion, 118th Cong. (2023
18 For further discussion on digital wallets, access and inclusion, see Digital Dollar Project's original white paper, Exploring a US CBDC
19 World Bank, The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments, and Resilience in the Age of COVID-19
20 For further discussion, see e-Estonia's e-ID Program
New technologies like decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and shared ledgers can streamline
Anti-Money Laundering/Know Your Customer (AML/KYC) processes. Interoperable digital
identity standards would enable an ecosystem of regulated identity attesters to provide
user credentials based on varying levels of KYC across jurisdictions. This can benefit those
who decide against opening a bank account or have limited access to banks and cash. By
providing a secure means of identification, digital wallets and CBDCs could open financial
services to millions of people excluded from the banking system. Developing interoperable
digital identity standards and establishing a network of regulated identity attesters will
require bilateral, if not multilateral, agreements between countries and institutions.
While financial inclusion is crucial, digital solutions should be gradually and intentionally
approached to avoid market fragmentation. For MTOs and banks in remittance-receiving
countries, CBDC design choices are related to their business models, with a preference for
physical cash usage among unbanked and underbanked populations in top remittance-
receiving countries a major consideration.21 Cash acceptance should not be negatively
affected by the introduction of CBDCs. Both payment methods should be equally
acceptable to the public and the state. While a well-designed CBDC could enhance financial
access, broader initiatives such as additional user-based research, public education and
financial literacy efforts, and other incentives are critical.
21 For further discussion, see Global Finance Magazine's World's Most Unbanked Countries 2021
The Pilot Study
Objectives
The pilot study assessed the value of using a rCBDC for cross-border direct funds transfers
by simulating a remittance transaction from a customer of a U.S. MTO, Western Union, to a
customer of a commercial bank in the Philippines, BDO Unibank. Key pilot objectives
included:
Increase the understanding and familiarity with digital dollars for policymakers
and private sector stakeholders: The Digital Dollar Project introduced a series of
potential pilots to understand the societal and economic benefits and challenges
of a tokenized form of the US dollar. This pilot gathered empirical evidence to test
hypotheses regarding the benefits of digital dollars in a cross-border remittance
use case.
Utilize a CBDC sandbox to simulate the transfer of a tokenized digital dollar from
a US-based MTO to a Philippine Bank to advance discussions of the potential
impact of using retail digital dollars for cross-border remittances to:
Reduce costs associated with transferring funds between correspondent

banking relationships;
Increase the speed and efficiency of remittance payment processing;
Increase financial inclusion and access to digital remittance payments;
Mitigate risks and delays in remittance transactions;
Improve retail remittance payments experience in niche trade corridors; and
Improve liquidity requirements via atomic settlement.
Inform future remittance transaction digital dollar use cases and business model
opportunities by serving as a leading example for government agencies to
understand design elements necessary for future efforts.
Refine the Digital Dollar Project's Champion Model to support the design and
development of retail digital dollars in a cross-border remittance context.
Roles and Network Architecture

Intermediated Distribution Model
A privately designed platform hosted all the nodes of the participating financial institutions,
including commercial banks and hypothetical central banks, with the central bank being the
sole issuer of CBDCs. This model, in which commercial banks must pledge assets to receive
CBDCs (and for CBDC redemption), was chosen to align with the current two-tier distribution
model, where licensed commercial banks have direct access to their respective central banks.
Western Union and BDO Unibank have specific requirements in this regard, with BDO Unibank
having direct access to its central bank as a commercial bank and Western Union operating
through a US commercial bank. This design was codified into the system.
Single Cloud Architecture

Participants on the permissioned network were represented by nodes and included simulated
central banks and liquidity providers, commercial banks, and a money transmitter. To reduce
technical complexities, the pilot has adopted a single-cloud architecture whereby the
participants can access their nodes through secure credentials. However, participants could
manage their cloud instances to host their nodes and other components, should
decentralization be a desired core design element.
Multiple CBDC Network

The sandbox based its technical design on the multi-CBDC platform described by the Bank of
International Settlements (BIS) to test interoperability and interconnectedness. This platform
involves a jointly operated payment system hosting multiple CBDCs with PvP settlements as
the default. This ensures that the final transfer of a payment in one currency occurs only if the
final transfer of a payment in another currency takes place.22 This design choice was made in
recognition and given the understanding that a global CBDC arrangement is likely to introduce
various jurisdictional and technical differences beyond the scope of this pilot study.
Network Operator
This pilot study did not explore a united network operator role in this phase; however, future
efforts may focus on responsibilities such as participant onboarding, network operations,
resiliency management, and security support.
22 Bank of International Settlements, Multi-CBDC arrangements and the future of cross-border payments, BIS Papers No. 115
Scope
The scope of the pilot study included testing the following key processes in the DLT sandbox
environment:
Configuring and issuing CBDCs from central banks to commercial banks and regulated
financial intermediaries
Pledging digital collateral by regulated financial entities to acquire CBDC
Onboarding retail customers to Western Union and BDO Unibank DLT nodes to simulate a
retail wallet portal for transacting with CBDC
Generating and accepting bulk-order FX spot prices, mirroring FX order generation

processes of the current state
Order Fulfilment of US CBDC for PHP CBDC through a DEX
Exchanging US CBDC for PHP CBDC end-to-end from a sending retail customer of Western
Union to a receiving retail customer of a commercial bank in the Philippines, BDO Unibank
Auditing the end-to-end issuance through the redemption process for US and PHP CBDCs
Out of Scope
Considerations for transaction privacy involved in a cross-border remittance were out of
scope for this pilot study. However, the Digital Dollar Project has convened a series of
roundtables with industry leaders on privacy, which will be more wholly addressed via a
different workstream.23
While the technical sandbox performed atomic settlement using simultaneous and instant
properties, the advantages and tradeoffs associated with instant settlement's possible
impact on currency liquidity management were not examined.
The potential impacts on central banks' ability to administer monetary policy due to the
underlying assumptions of this pilot study were excluded from this scope.
23 Digital Dollar Project, Summary Report of the Digital Dollar Project's Roundtable Discussions on Privacy
Assumptions
Given the many uncertainties regarding the ultimate design of any CBDC that someday might
be introduced by the United States, a series of assumptions were made to establish the
context of the simulation 24:
Simulated value: All tokens and assets used in this pilot study were simulated and not
representative of real value.
Two-tier distribution system: Following the Digital Dollar Project Champion Model [14],
this pilot study tested a CBDC model where central banks issue CBDCs distributed to the
public through commercial banks and regulated financial technology and payment
intermediaries.25
Digital and traditional collateral: Assuming that central banks are part of the network,
digital assets such as digital bonds, in addition to other traditional forms of collateral
such as fiat currency, may be used as collateral to be pledged in return for CBDC.
Compliance checks performed off-ledger: The pilot study team assumes that customer
onboarding and KYC/AML compliance checks are conducted off-network. In future
iterations, customer data can be stored off-network and certification of those KYC/AML-
compliant user credentials may be passed to permissioned parties to meet corridor-
specific verification requirements.
Financial institutions host customer wallets and custody CBDCs: The simulation assumes
that BDO Unibank and Western Union host wallets and CBDCs on behalf of their
customers as sub-accounts to their institutional wallet.
Entities holding foreign CBDC to fulfill orders: This pilot assumes that financial
institutions may transact in foreign currency (i.e., Western Union sending PHP to BDO
Unibank), but their primary holdings will be in their domestic currency. Regulated financial
institutions in this sandbox may hold foreign currency to place FX orders on behalf of the
customer. In addition, commercial banks could serve as FX liquidity providers.
24 Atlantic Council, Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker

25 For further discussion, see the Digital Dollar Project's Whitepaper 2.0: Champion Model
Approach
The pilot study envisaged a future state where CBDC-based remittances might be processed
in an automated straight-through manner per the processes defined below. Upon initiation of
a remittance, foreign currencies would be purchased on-demand (on a 24/7 basis, despite
time zone differences) through a centralized or decentralized exchange that provides
currency pair liquidity. The value of this enhanced FX trade and subsequent remittance
improves the customer experience by reducing cost and improving transaction visibility and
benefits institutions by reducing counterparty risk and minimizing liquidity cost and risk
previously required under the pre-funding model. Having multiple liquidity providers on the
network through a DEX can increase market competition and provide more favorable
exchange rates by allowing for multiple liquidity providers.
To facilitate remittances to the Philippines today, Western Union forecasts and pre-funds their
accounts with Philippine peso at average bulk or agreed-upon rates to ensure sufficient
liquidity for transactions made during closed markets hours and holidays in the Philippines.
With the ability to access digital dollars on-demand, Western Union can commit more discrete
levels of liquidity, potentially on a transaction-by-transaction basis, to optimize liquidity and
improve treasury and cash management functions.
Recognizing a natural progression of technology, the pilot study designed this first phase to
reflect that Western Union would still purchase PHP and act as the agent for the customer.
The purchase of the PHP in the pilot could be completed on-demand throughout the day,
including on weekends. A DEX was selected as the component that provides a market for
currency pair exchange to explore potential benefits associated with a decentralized
marketplace to improve competition and price transparency.26 Given that the pilot study was
set up as Western Union purchasing PHP CBDC in advance of a customer remittance being
initiated, it involved conducting two sequential simulations:
1. Issuance of CBDCs by Central Banks to Financial Institutions

2. Peer-to-Peer Remittance Payment
26 For further discussion, see the usage of DeFi in a CBDC context explored in Project Mariana
Issuance of CBDCs to Financial Institutions

The first simulation prepared the remittance-sending and receiving entities by obtaining the
necessary assets. This involved acquiring digital bonds and CBDCs, configuring institutional
member access to the permissioned network for CBDC distribution, and provisioning
customer wallets to facilitate remittances. The simulation focused on the CBDC issuance
process from a central bank's perspective, followed by its distribution to a commercial bank
and then an MTO before finally being made available in a retail wallet.27 This section of the
experiment established the foundation for how an MTO and a commercial bank would have
access to the digital settlement asset, which required making assumptions, further explored
below, about the CBDC issuance process from a central bank's perspective.
Each jurisdiction’s simulated central bank is represented as a node in the network. They are
the only entity that can define the characteristics of an issue or burn CBDCs. The country-
specific central bank node was selected to simulate the creation of its corresponding CBDC.
The sandbox platform provided several controls within each central bank node. These
features are not definitive but highlight the range of possible design choices throughout the
CBDC issuance and distribution process:
Member network access: The central bank controls who has access to their
network via member access controls. Certain commercial banks may have direct
access to the central bank, as they do today with commercial paper. Only entities
granted member access may directly acquire CBDC from the central bank in
exchange for digital collateral.
CBDC token characteristics: In the simulation, the central bank can configure
several characteristics of the CBDC. These are assumptions that the issuing central
bank will ultimately determine. Configurability includes but is not limited to:
The number of decimal places supported
Whether the asset is interest-bearing
Maximum transaction limits
Token expiration date—the amount of time before a token needs to be re-
issued with a new identifier to limit the data chain and improve security; and
Max usage—the number of transactions that use the token before it is re-
issued with a new identifier to limit the data chain and improve security
27 Neither the United States Federal Reserve nor the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas were involved in this pilot study. Assumptions
associated with the role of central banks are largely based on existing financial markets norms and practices.
Collateral pledging: Collateral can be put up by a commercial bank in exchange for

CBDC. Digital bonds were selected for the simulation, but other forms of collateral
could be cash, tokenized deposits held at the central bank, or digital assets.
Once the CBDC token was designed and the access controls were set, the CBDC could be
distributed to the second-tier financial entity and onwards to customers, as illustrated in
Figure A. The MTO or commercial bank funds their respective customer wallets, assuming
they have undergone an onboarding process and have wallet accounts created on the
network. The funds held in a retail wallet were part of a sub-account to the MTO, which the
commercial bank has visibility into. Once logged in, the customer could view transaction
history, add payees, and send remittances.
Figure A: Issuance of CBDC to Financial Institutions
Distributed Ledger Technology Western Union
Central Bank issues digital dollars to commercial bank
Western Union’s commercial bank provides access to digital dollars
Western Union conducts KYC/AML to onboard customer
Western Union hosts customer’s wallet
Customer funds or withdraws traditional fiat in exchange for digital dollars

Peer-to-Peer Remittance Payment

Western Union purchases PHP CBDC before the remittance in this iteration, utilizing and
holding a basket of currencies in its treasury. The next simulation showcased the P2P
remittance transfer, whereby Western Union acquires PHP CBDC to facilitate the remittance
transaction on behalf of a Western Union customer. Real-time FX rates were made available
via a 3rd party integration to simulate exchange rates between USD and PHP. However, in a
real-world scenario, the bulk of expected remittances in the US-Philippine corridor will occur
during off-trading hours in Manila when PHP is not available for purchase, which introduces
questions surrounding global currency exchange availability in an increasingly digitized and
24/7 online world.28
To acquire PHP CBDC, Western Union utilized a DEX to broadcast the number of digital
dollars and the US-PHP exchange rate offered to network participants. These participants can
include multiple liquidity providers onboarded and permissioned onto the network, which may
improve market competitiveness and pricing. It can be an entity, such as a commercial bank,
with competitive pricing or an exclusivity agreement. Permissioned network members who
received the broadcasted currency exchange offer and had sufficient liquidity in the desired
currency pair (e.g., USD and PHP) could choose to accept the full offer, in which case a
transaction occurred between the digital dollar from Western Union and the PHP CBDC from
the liquidity provider to Western Union. This FX spot transaction was done atomically through
a PvP mechanism, removing most credit risk involved in the transaction. The pilot study
individually evaluated the components for a straight-through processed remittance as part of
this initial iteration. End-to-end automation of this process would be an ideal next step for
further research. If this were automated and implemented, Western Union would not need to
acquire PHP before a customer remittance request.
Assuming the Western Union node or set of accounts had sufficient PHP CBDC, a customer
could add or select a payee to initiate a remittance from the U.S. utilizing real-time FX rates,
which were configured into the simulation through an API. When the customer initiated a
remittance transfer, they received a quote for the USD-PHP exchange rate (sourced from the
last DEX steps). Upon confirmation of the payment, as Figure B illustrates, Western Union
transferred the PHP CBDC to BDO Unibank against the customer account. Once the
remittance recipient (i.e., BDO Unibank customer) received payment, Western Union received
confirmation of the CBDC transfer and confirmed with the remittance sender.
28 The bulk of remittances sent from the United States to the Philippines occurs during the late evening hours in Manila (3am to 8am),
when PHP FX trading desks are closed. This is a constraint worth noting as future iterations of cross-border experiments should explore
how congruence may be established between time zones, trading desk hours, and currency liquidity.
While transaction privacy considerations were not explicitly in scope for this paper, the pilot
assumed that customers grant their financial institutions permission to hold and leverage
their data, not the central bank. In this case, the handling of PI (Personal Information) and
transaction data is owned by Western Union and BDO Unibank according to internal policies
and systems.29 As such, both BDO Unibank and Western Union have visibility into the
transaction status and parties involved resulting in a reduced need for reconciliation efforts
between both entities.
Figure B: P2P Remittance Transfer
Distributed Ledger Technology
Western Union BDO Unibank
Exchange
Sender initiates payment, confirms details
Verification of balance in Sender’s wallet
Verification of known Recipient
Value atomically exchanged between wallets
Recipient notified of payment

Confirmation sent back to Sender
29 For this phase of work, privacy elements, such as the detailed provisions for managing data in a multi-party arrangement, were not
explored. However, it is the view of the participants that data privacy rules and regulations in the respective jurisdictions should be
adhered to.
Findings
The pilot study successfully simulated a cross-border retail CBDC remittance between
Western Union and BDO Unibank customers using a DLT-based sandbox. The sandbox
illustrated the potential remittance flows, capabilities, and how the customer experience may
be improved. The pilot study also highlighted additional critical considerations that should be
explored following this establishment of foundational elements for cross-border remittance
payment experimentation.
Creating a rCBDC that sets the industry standard requires striking a delicate balance between
addressing consumer pain points, ensuring privacy and protection, and managing risk across
the entire system. The pilot study revealed that enabling 24/7 settlement can significantly
reduce credit risk, reconciliation, and related dispute management costs, ultimately benefiting
end customers. Using a permissioned DLT network helps preserve consumer privacy by
allowing for granular control over the level of consumer data sharing. Additionally, the shared
ledger between Western Union and BDO Unibank increases transparency, resulting in greater
certainty regarding transaction flows during and after the payment process. Overall, a
successful retail CBDC design should prioritize consumer needs and safety while managing
risks across the system. The key potential benefits to retail customers that the pilot study has
highlighted include the following:
Reduced Risk: Instant settlement across multiple currencies reduces counterparty

and credit risk for customers and their financial institutions.
Optimized Cost: CBDC settlement allows for transferring value and message in a
single transaction, settled atomically, alleviating the cost of capital held in pre-
funded accounts.
Enhanced Customer Experience: A tokenized digital dollar increases the

accessibility and portability of money in a digital form to benefit the unbanked and
underbanked. While only one component to a larger set of solutions, a erified
digital wallet can help reduce fraud, enable faster settlement, harmonize
jurisdictional requirements, and reduce failed transactions.
Improved Visibility: Using a permissioned ledger provides institutions and their

customers with enhanced visibility into the stage of a transaction, which bolsters
customer trust.
Policy Considerations
The pilot study made several underlying design assumptions that subsequently produced a
set of policy considerations that are important to examine.
Central Bank Money for Retail Cross-border Remittances

Digital central bank money is typically reserved for wholesale banking, where large-value
transactions require a riskless and efficient asset for settlement. The study assumed retail
customers could use central bank money to send cross-border remittances. However, this
represents a departure from common remittance practices today, whereby customers
typically access and use commercial bank money through correspondent banking.30 With
trends toward digital currencies, a shift toward rCBDC is growing in plausibility.31
Policymakers should consider the advantages and trade-offs associated with the safety and
soundness of using central bank money (vs. privately issued money) for P2P cross-border
remittances.32
Foreign Holding of CBDCs

This pilot study assumed that a US MTO could hold and send PHP CBDC to fulfill customer
remittance orders. While other projects have made similar assumptions to allow foreign
banks and corporates to use CBDCs, without appropriate safeguards, cross-border use of
CBDCs and broadening access to central bank money could hinder central banks’ ability to
maintain monetary policy.33 Policymakers should consider the adaptations required to
correspondent banking to accommodate foreign holding of CBDCs, including provisions
34, 35
establishing rules for who can hold what currency.
Foreign Exchange Liquidity Providers

A primary feature study was the decentralized liquidity exchange that, if scaled, could support
many liquidity providers that offer currency pair liquidity, which could drive competition and
transparency. To be congruent with today's FX practices, policymakers should explore the
benefits and tradeoffs of granting regulated financial institutions the permission to buy and
sell currencies on such distributed systems. Permitted agents should offer robust operational
and compliance controls to prevent systemic issues and operate under local regulations.
30 While most cross-border payments today are settled using commercial bank money, Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) is an
exception that settles FX transactions on a PvP basis and through accounts held at the relevant central banks.
31 For further discussion, see Central bank digital currencies: motives, economic implications and the research frontier
32 For further discussion, see Project Icebreaker
33 For further discussion, see Project mBridge
34 For further discussion, see Rep. Luetkemeyer's proposal to ban US money service businesses from holding China’s digital yuan
35 For further discussion, see the Bank of England's consultation paper, which assumes foreign nationals could hold a digital pound.
Topics for Further Exploration

Below are several key areas where further research and testing are needed to determine the
optimal path forward for developing and deploying CBDCs in a cross-border context.
Ultimately, this initial pilot study demonstrated the potential for CBDC-based remittance
transactions, but measuring the benefits and impacts of rCBDCs for remittances will require
deeper experimentation:
Inclusive Identity Attestation Models: To promote financial inclusion, standards for

customer verification and compliance checks across a distributed network should
account for unbanked and underbanked customers without formal identification.
Checks should balance ease of onboarding and access with the ability to flag
activity from prohibited jurisdictions and sanctioned counterparties. DIDs offer a
potential pathway to achieving this objective.
Privacy for Cross-border Transactions: Privacy considerations for CBDC-based

remittances related to transaction visibility between financial institutions and their
jurisdictions should be further explored and defined. Defining privacy standards for
CBDC transactions will ensure secure cross-border transfers while protecting
individual privacy rights. Trust can be fostered, CBDC adoption encouraged, and
secure and confidential digital transactions enabled by prioritizing privacy
requirements and implementing robust protocols.
Multi-Network Cross-border Interoperability: Working with multiple CBDCs

requires a broader discussion on interoperability standards. This remains a
question in the cross-border CBDC landscape. The pilot study assumed a single
network with permissioned access for US and Philippines financial institutions and
their retail customers. However, as most previous experiments were done from an
institutional perspective, an alternative approach involving retail customers would
provide value to the global discussion on CBDCs.
Refining the Digital Dollar Project

Champion Model
This pilot study explored how the eight tenets of the Digital Dollar Project's Champion Model
could be refined due to the findings produced. Additional context has been added to two
tenets: Two-tier distribution model and Technology decisions and design choices driven by
functional needs.
Two-tier distribution model Technology decisions and design

choices driven by functional needs
A core tenet of the Digital Dollar Project
Champion Model is that a digital dollar should Another core tenet of the Digital Dollar
be distributed to end users through the Project Champion Model is that
existing two-tiered architecture of commercial functional needs should drive technology
banks and regulated financial technology and decisions and design choices. The policy
payment intermediaries. and economic requirements, such as
scalability, throughput, and data privacy,
This pilot study produced evidence that of a digital dollar should inform both the
supports the Champion Model's position underlying technology and ultimate
that regulated financial technology and design choices.
payment intermediaries, including MTOs,
are critical to the design and adoption of a The pilot study raised the importance
potential U.S. CBDC. of adaptive identity attestation
models to improve financial inclusion
Given the important role that MTOs play by providing optionality for
with respect to global remittances, their customers to onboard.
unique needs should play a key role in any
discussions regarding a digital dollar. A digital dollar system should
accommodate a wide set of
With nearly 1.4B adults unbanked customers, including those who lack
worldwide, whether by circumstance or formal identification, by ensuring the
choice, MTOs play a crucial role in digital wallet infrastructure facilitates
providing financial services to remittance a fair and transparent onboarding
customers who prefer cash.36 process while promoting security.
36 The World Bank, COVID-19 Boosted the Adoption of Digital Financial Services
Conclusion
The team designed and deployed this pilot to better understand the potential role of a digital
dollar for cross-border remittance payments. The pilot demonstrated that rather than
displacing the service offerings of Western Union and BDO Unibank, CBDCs present an
opportunity to modernize processes and promote efficiencies for private sector companies
and their customers. This pilot study indicated a clear potential for retail CBDCs, designed
as tokenized bearer instruments and distributed to end users through banks and other
regulated intermediaries, to improve cross-border remittance payments.
While deciding whether to design and deploy a U.S. CBDC and a Philippine CBDC rests with
policymakers in each jurisdiction, the Digital Dollar Project will continue its philanthropic
mission of fostering private-sector-led exploration of a U.S. CBDC, including the design
benefits and challenges for a retail digital dollar. As noted, further research and
experimentation are needed to understand the benefits and challenges of rCBDCs fully. This
pilot study is an initial step in evaluating a key consideration for financial inclusion, improving
the speed and lowering the cost of cross-border remittances.
Acronyms
AML - Anti Money Laundering FDIC - Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
CBDC - Central Bank Digital Currency KYC - Know Your Customer
DEX - Decentralized Exchange MTO - Money Transfer Operator
DID - Decentralized Identifiers PHP - Philippine peso
DLT - Distributed Ledger Technology PI - Personal Information
DvP - Delivery-versus-Payment PvP - Payment-versus-Payment
FX - Foreign Exchange
Appendix
Cross-border CBDC exploratory work to date

As of July 2023, the central banks of 130 countries are exploring CBDCs.37 Four central banks
have already deployed CBDCs, while several major players are set to launch CBDCs in the
coming years. Cross-border transactions are an important use case for CBDCs that has been
studied by several pilots worldwide. While the cross-border pilots outlined below generally
focused on technology- and governance-related issues from the perspective of central banks,
this pilot study sought to provide insights from the perspective of private sector institutions
that represent retail customers.
Most projects examined examine wholesale CBDCs – CBDCs available to financial

institutions for large, bank-to-bank transactions. This pilot examined retail CBDCs, which are
available for use by the public and generally distributed to end users via regulated
intermediaries like banks and other financial companies. This pilot further extends cross-
border CBDC research to the retail level.
By testing customers' transfer and reception of CBDCs through accounts at a financial

services company and a commercial bank, this pilot explored complex public policy issues
inherent to retail CBDCs. The findings from the project will also provide data for financial
institutions to inform downstream CBDC preparation efforts, including technology and
business transformation efforts.
37 Atlantic Council, Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker

Project Publishing Date and Jurisdiction/ Scope

Organization(s) Region
Exploration driven by central banks: Tested atomic

2019 – Bank of Canada,
Canada – settlement of cross-border, cross-currency, and
Jasper-Ubin Monetary Authority of
Singapore cross-platform transactions using Hash Time Lock
Singapore
Contracts (HTLC).
Exploration driven by central banks in partnership

2021 – Banque de France, BIS with commercial banks: Tested direct transfer of
France –
Project Jura Innovation Hub, Swiss National euro and Swiss franc wCBDCs between French and
Switzerland
Bank Swiss commercial banks on a single DLT platform
operated by a third party.
2022 – BIS Innovation Hub,

Exploration driven by central banks: Tested the
Reserve Bank of Australia, Australia –
speed and efficiency of direct cross-border
Central Bank of Malaysia, Malaysia –
Project Dunbar transactions between financial institutions in
Monetary Authority of Singapore –
different currencies using a shared multi-CBDC
Singapore, South African South Africa
platform.
Reserve Bank
2022 – BIS Innovation Hub, Exploration driven by central banks with commercial
Hong Kong Monetary Authority, bank participation: Tested cross-border payments
Hong Kong –
Bank of Thailand, People's Bank using a custom-built common platform based on
Project mBridge Thailand –
of China Digital Currency DLT upon which multiple central banks can issue
China – UAE
Institute, Central Bank of the and exchange their respective central bank digital
United Arab Emirates currencies (multi-CBDCs).
Exploration driven by central banks: Tested the

2023 – BIS Innovation Hub Israel –
Project technical feasibility of cross-border, cross-currency
Nordic Centre, Bank of Israel, Norway –
Icebreaker transactions across different potential retail CBDC
Norges Bank, Sveriges Riksbank Sweden
systems.
Project Cedar Exploration driven by central banks: Tested DLT

2023 – New York Federal US (NY Fed)
Phase II effectiveness in improving interoperability and
Reserve, United States – Singapore
x Ubin+ speed in cross-border multi-currency payments.
Regulated Exploration driven by central banks: Tested shared

Liabilities 2023 - Federal Reserve Bank of ledger technology to settle the liabilities of
US (NY Fed)
Network US Proof New York’s Innovation Center regulated financial institutions through the transfer
of Concept of central bank money.
Exploration driven by private sector leaders: Tested

The Digital Dollar
rCBDC remittance from a U.S. MTO customer to a
Project:
2023 – Western Union, B US – beneficiary in the Philippines. The pilot study
Cross-Border
Unibank Philippines produced findings to influence future policy,
Remittance
advance public awareness, and reflect the
Payments
operational readiness of leading stakeholders.
Chart non-exhaustive
The Role of Western Union in Remittances

Western Union helps aspiring people and businesses worldwide save, spend, and transfer
money—empowering more prosperous financial futures for their families, friends, and
communities across borders. Our mission is to make financial services accessible to people
everywhere. We build and offer easy-to-use products and services that bridge digital and
physical to give customers choice, security, and reliability, no matter where they are.
Our leading cross-border, cross-currency money movement, payments, and digital financial
services empower consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments—across
more than 200 countries and territories and nearly 130 currencies—to connect with billions of
bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and a global footprint of hundreds of
thousands of retail locations.
Our position as a trusted financial services provider offers an exciting opportunity to

significantly deepen customer relationships by offering additional digital products and
services alongside our core money transfer services. From our earliest beginning, which goes
back to the mid-1800s, we have advanced technology to connect people – always staying
focused on connecting people closer to the places and loved ones that matter most to them,
in good times and bad. CBDCs are one example of the many innovations we are exploring to
empower our customers to take advantage of the latest technological advancements.
The Role of BDO Unibank in Remittances

BDO Unibank is the largest bank in the Philippines, operating in full service anytime,
anywhere. From branches to ATMs, from assets to operations – with over 1,600 branches
and more than 4,600 ATMs nationwide. This includes BDO Network Bank, BDO Unibank’s rural
bank subsidiary, built to provide access to financial services in rural areas. We have made
banking services even more accessible with over 10,000 Cash Agad partner stores, allowing
POS cash withdrawals and balance inquiries in underserved communities.
BDO Unibank, through its remittance service BDO Remit, operates in key areas where
Overseas Filipinos are located, spread across Asia, the Middle East, the U.S.A., Canada, and
Europe, serving as a bridge for global partners to better reach Filipinos working in these
countries.
We are also a proud member of the SM Group, one of the country’s strongest and biggest
conglomerates in the Philippines. With over 80 mall branches located in key areas throughout
the Philippines, open seven days a week, resulting in extended banking hours. BDO Remit
allows beneficiaries to claim remittances seven days a week, including holidays.
We have the largest market share in remittances and deposits through BDO Kabayan Savings
account. The Kabayan Savings account was created especially for Filipinos abroad and their
families to enjoy the ease of opening an account and the affordability, which also comes with
free life and accident insurance for remitters. For years, BDO Unibank has been developing an
active and harmonious partnership with SM, the Philippines’ largest chain of shopping malls,
allowing our clients to enjoy its exclusive promos and events nationwide.
BDO Unibank also created various programs all catering to Filipinos working abroad, like the
Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS), where attendees can instantly open a BDO
Kabayan Savings. And to reach out to more families in rural areas, BDO Unibank created a
grassroots marketing program where we teach communities financial literacy, which we’ve
started since 2014. We discuss tips on saving and investments to bring them closer to
achieving their goals and caring for themselves while away from their families.
Today, BDO Unibank’s remittance business has grown from simply being a way to send
money to being key in building a better future for Filipino families. Amid the pandemic, our
service also remained uninterrupted, making us a stronger bank of choice by both clients and
partners. We envision our partners’ commitment to making remittances more convenient and
efficient, lasting for years.
The Pilot Study's Simulated CBDC Network

CBDC Overview
CBDC is a new digital currency format and payment network model that institutions and
central banks around the world are exploring. The Digital Dollar Project believes that, if
designed appropriately, CBDC could be the next major innovation in U.S. money and could
provide a modernized currency for a token-based future. In the Digital Dollar Project's
Champion Model, a U.S. CBDC, potentially issued by the Federal Reserve System, would enjoy
the full faith and credit of the U.S. government to have the same legal status as physical bank
notes and reserves. CBDC has the potential to be a natively digital solution that integrates
efficiently with other DLT-based assets and infrastructures.
Digital Dollar Project’s Champion Model
The Digital Dollar Project has studied findings from global CBDC initiatives to develop a
“Champion Model” that can be tested and refined through hands-on testing. The Digital Dollar
Project recognizes that there are many unanswered questions regarding a U.S. CBDC. As
global experimentation produces new findings and requirements, the Digital Dollar
Projectintends to refine its champion model to incorporate the needs of various use cases.
Tenets of the Digital Dollar Project

Champion Model 38
Tokenization
A digital dollar would be a tokenized form of the U.S. dollar. Tokenization is the act of creating a digital
representation of the information, rights, and ownership of an asset, good, right, or currency and using that
digital representation to attest to facilitate transactions and ownership.
Third format of currency

A digital dollar would operate alongside existing fiat currency and commercial bank money. It will mirror
many properties of physical money, including its ability to work alongside existing account-based systems.
Existing money supply could be converted on a 1:1 basis into CBDC to ensure there is no new money
creation.
Maintenance of the two-tiered banking system

A digital dollar would be distributed through the existing two-tiered architecture of commercial banks and
regulated financial technology intermediaries.
Privacy
The digital dollar would support a balance between individual privacy rights, data confidentiality, and
necessary compliance and regulatory processes, in accordance with democratic norms, and ultimately
reflecting the jurisprudence around the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Monetary policy-neutral
The introduction of a digital dollar would be a new representation of the U.S. dollar and would not change the
money supply. The technology that underpins it, such as programmability, may open more opportunities for
the Federal Reserve to transmit monetary policy but is subject to how a digital dollar is ultimately designed
and implemented.
Technology decisions and design choices driven by functional needs

The policy and economic requirements, such as scalability, throughput, and data privacy, of a digital dollar
would inform both the underlying technology and ultimate design choices.
Future-proofing the architecture through flexibility

The chosen technological architecture would offer the flexibility to adapt based on policy and economic
considerations. A CBDC would be designed with the ability to be updated as technology advances.
Continued private sector innovation

A digital dollar would act as a catalyst for innovation and will not be antithetical to the development of
private sector initiatives.
38 For further discussion on the Digital Dollar Project's Champion Model, see Revisiting the Digital Dollar Project’s exploration of a U.S.
central bank digital currency (Digital Dollar Project Whitepaper 2.0)
External References
Agcaoili, Lawrence, “Remittances Hit Record High of $36.1 Billion in 2022.” Philstar.com, February 15,
2023. https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/02/16/2245201/remittances-hit-record-high-361-billion-
2022
Ardic, Oya, Hemant Baijal, Patrizia Baudino, Nana Yaa Baokye-Adjei, Jonathan Fishman, and Richard Audu
Maikai, “The Journey so Far: Making Cross-Border Remittances Work for Financial Inclusion.” FSI Insights
No. 43, Bank for International Settlements, June 2022. https://www.bis.org/fsi/publ/insights1.pdf.
Auer, Raphael, Philipp Haene and Henry Holden, “Multi-CBDC arrangements and the future of cross-border
payments.” BIS Papers No. 115, March 19, 2021. https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap115.pdf.
"COVID-19 Boosted the Adoption of Digital Financial Services" World Bank Group, July 21, 2022.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2022/07/21/covid-19-boosted-the-adoption-of-digital-
financial-services
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “2021 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked
Households.” FDIC, October 2022. https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/index.html.
“Leveraging Digital Identity for Greater Financial and Social Inclusion.” IISD, July 27, 2022.
https://sdg.iisd.org/commentary/generation-2030/leveraging-digital-identity-for-greater-financial-and-
social-inclusion/.
Michael Kanovitz, “Banks' Financial Inclusion Initiatives Are Too Narrow.” OMFIF, August 5, 2022.
https://www.omfif.org/2022/08/banks-financial-inclusion-initiatives-are-too-narrow/ .
"Payment Systems Worldwide: Summary Outcomes of the Fifth Global Payment System Survey" World
Bank Group, June 2020. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/115211594375402373/pdf/A-
Snapshot.pdf
R Auer, J Frost, L Gambacorta, C Monnet, T Rice and H S Shin, “Central bank digital currencies: motives,
economic implications and the research frontier,” Annual Review of Economics, vol 14, 2022,
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-051420-020324.
“Remittances Grow 5% in 2022, Despite Global Headwinds.” The World Bank, December 5, 2022.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/11/30/remittances-grow-5-percent-2022.
“Sending Money from the United States to the Philippines.” Remittance Prices Worldwide. The World
Bank, 2022. https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/corridor/United-States/Philippines.
Statista Research Department, “Leading Countries Worldwide, by Value of Migrant Remittance Outflows
in 2021.” Statista, April 12, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/788334/leading-countries-by-
value-of-migrant-remittance-outflows/.
Testimony of J. Austin Campbell before the U.S. Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology
and Inclusion, 118th Cong, (2023).
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BA/BA21/20230419/115753/HHRG-118-BA21-Wstate-CampbellA-
20230419.pdf
Ventura, Luca, “World's Most Unbanked Countries 2021.” Global Finance Magazine, February 17, 2021.
https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/worlds most-unbanked-countries.
Western Union, "Money Transfer Index, Middle East and Asia Pacific Series,"
https://corporate.westernunion-microsites.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Global-Money-Transfer-
Index_Middle-East-and-Asia-Pacific-Series.pdf
“2021 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.” FDIC, November 14, 2022.
https://www.fdic.gov/analysis/household.
Note: The views expressed in this white paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the
views of the Digital Dollar Project Advisory Group, the Digital Dollar Project’s participant community, or its
working group members and affiliated entities.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This document may make reference to trademarks owned by third parties. All such third-party trademarks are
the property of their respective owners. No sponsorship, endorsement, or approval of this content by the
owners of such trademarks is intended, expressed, or implied. This document is intended for general
informational purposes only and does not take into account the reader’s specific circumstances and may not
reflect the most current developments. The Digital Dollar Project disclaims, to the fullest extent permitted by
applicable law, any and all liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information in this document and
for any acts or omissions made based on such information. The Digital Dollar Project does not provide legal,
regulatory, audit, or tax advice. Readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel
or other licensed professionals.
About The Digital Dollar Project

A nonprofit organization, The Digital Dollar Project was created to encourage research and public discussion
on the potential advantages and challenges of a U.S. CBDC — or a "digital dollar." The Digital Dollar Project will
identify options for a CBDC solution to help enhance monetary policy effectiveness and financial stability;
provide needed scalability, security and privacy in retail, wholesale and international payments; and integrate
with existing financial infrastructures. The believes it is key and will facilitate opportunities for the U.S. to
engage in international standard-setting regardless of whether the U.S. eventually issues a CBDC or not.
For more information on The Digital Dollar Project, please visit https://digitaldollarproject.org
Copyright © 2023 Digital Dollar Project. All rights reserved

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The Digital Dollar Project

Kevin Mole Patrick Schumacher

Geneva Gloria Ferdinand Bacungan

The Digital Dollar Project Board of Directors

The Honorable J. Christopher Giancarlo Jennifer Lassiter Charles Giancarlo

Daniel Gorfine David Treat Elizabeth Gray

1. Issuance of CBDCs to financial institutions and their customers to lay the

2. Peer-to-peer remittances to demonstrate the benefits of using a tokenized

Reduced Risk: Instant settlement across multiple currencies reduces counterparty

Enhanced Customer Experience: A CBDC increases the accessibility and

Improved Visibility: Using a permissioned ledger provides institutions and their

The Global Role of

A settlement method that is often defined as including simultaneous and instant

A fiat currency that is digitally issued by the government’s central bank,

An atomic settlement method commonly used in securities transactions. It

An atomic settlement method commonly used in foreign exchange transactions

A digital form of national currency, issued and controlled by a central bank,

The act of digitally representing information in a unique manner on a technology

Foundation for Future Cross-

FOUNDATIONAL CORRIDOR CUSTOMER

THIS PILOT STUDY

The Global Role of

1 World Bank Group, Remittances Grow 5% in 2022, Despite Global Headwinds

The Philippines is Asia's second-largest recipient of remittance payments, having received

4 Philstar Global, Remittances Hit Record High of $36.1 Billion in 2022

The Role a CBDC Could Play

Identified Benefits of a DLT

Distributed Technology Architecture

CBDC as a Potential Catalyst

The Pilot Study

Reduce costs associated with transferring funds between correspondent

Roles and Network Architecture

Single Cloud Architecture

Multiple CBDC Network

Pledging digital collateral by regulated financial entities to acquire CBDC

Generating and accepting bulk-order FX spot prices, mirroring FX order generation

Order Fulfilment of US CBDC for PHP CBDC through a DEX

24 Atlantic Council, Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker

1. Issuance of CBDCs by Central Banks to Financial Institutions

Issuance of CBDCs to Financial Institutions

Collateral pledging: Collateral can be put up by a commercial bank in exchange for

Figure A: Issuance of CBDC to Financial Institutions

Distributed Ledger Technology Western Union

Central Bank issues digital dollars to commercial bank

Western Union’s commercial bank provides access to digital dollars

Western Union conducts KYC/AML to onboard customer

Western Union hosts customer’s wallet

Customer funds or withdraws traditional fiat in exchange for digital dollars

Peer-to-Peer Remittance Payment

Figure B: P2P Remittance Transfer

Distributed Ledger Technology

Western Union BDO Unibank

Sender initiates payment, confirms details

Verification of balance in Sender’s wallet

Verification of known Recipient

Value atomically exchanged between wallets

Recipient notified of payment

Reduced Risk: Instant settlement across multiple currencies reduces counterparty

Enhanced Customer Experience: A tokenized digital dollar increases the