digitaalsetel

Digitaalsetel is a digital form of central bank money used for making payments and settling transactions. It is issued and guaranteed by a country's central bank and serves as legal tender, representing a digital counterpart to physical cash. It can be stored in digital wallets or on secure devices and used for person-to-person or merchant payments, as well as for interbank settlements.

Retail CBDC versus wholesale CBDC describes different implementations. Retail CBDC is available to the general public, while wholesale CBDC is intended for financial institutions. Technical approaches vary: account-based models rely on a holder having an account at a central bank or participating institutions, while token-based models store value as cryptographic tokens.

Compared with cryptocurrencies or private e-money, digitaalsetel is centrally issued, regulated, and typically fully backed by fiat, with the central bank able to manage supply, oversight, and monetary policy. It may offer features such as offline transactions, strong security, and programmability, while balancing privacy and traceability.

Globally, many economies are exploring CBDCs, with pilots and research in regions such as the European Union, the Caribbean, and East Asia. Estonia participates in CBDC research and other digital money initiatives as part of a broader move toward digital payments and financial inclusion. The development of digitaalsetel continues to be influenced by regulatory standards, technological advances, and policy goals.