Majority of central banks still lack CBDC issuance powers
Legal mandates are scarce in both larger and smaller central banks
Most jurisdictions still have no legal mandate to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Fintech Benchmarks 2026 show.
Of the 28 central banks that addressed the question, 71.4% say they lack the powers to issue a CBDC. The result agrees broadly with the findings published in the 2025 benchmark – when 69% of 29 respondents had no mandate to issue a CBDC.
Benchmark respondents have a median workforce of 891 employees relative to an average of 1,483 staff. Central Banking broke down
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