Will Taiwan issue Digital New Taiwan Dollar Central Bank releases outsourcing survey results 45 of the public concerned about retaining transaction records

Digital New Taiwan Dollar Survey: 45% Concerned About Keeping Transaction Records
As digital assets become increasingly prominent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report states that over 100 countries worldwide are studying the issuance of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Taiwan’s central bank has been researching the possibility of a “Digital New Taiwan Dollar” since 2019 and recently released the results of an outsourced questionnaire survey.
The so-called Digital New Taiwan Dollar is essentially a currency in electronic form with the same value as physical New Taiwan Dollar banknotes and coins.
Currently, countries like Japan, the Eurozone, and the United Kingdom are still in the conceptual verification or prototype construction stage, while China and Thailand have already entered the pilot phase.
Taking China’s digital Renminbi as an example, since 2019, China has launched pilot tests in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Chengdu, and the 2022 Winter Olympics scenarios. China Construction Bank has added a “Digital Renminbi Wallet” feature to its mobile banking client, allowing users to directly apply for a digital Renminbi wallet and perform functions such as payment, receipt, scanning, and transfer.
The usage method is similar to ordinary mobile payments, where users can simply scan a QR code using their cameras to make payments. Sliding up on the main interface allows for payments, while sliding down enables receipt. Users can also exchange physical cash for digital Renminbi.


Central Bank’s Digital New Taiwan Dollar Survey Results
The Central Bank of Taiwan has completed two stages of experimental research on the digital New Taiwan Dollar and is currently in the prototype construction phase. The central bank conducted an outsourced questionnaire survey in April 2023 and completed it in April 2024. The survey targeted the general public, industry financial institutions, payment service providers, virtual asset operators, government agencies, and relevant experts in the academic field.
Public Perception
According to the central bank’s report, the general public (citizens, stores, vendors) has low awareness of the digital New Taiwan Dollar, but their willingness to use it would significantly increase if awareness and understanding were improved.
Currently, 73.8% of respondents stated that they “use both cash and non-cash methods,” while 25% of respondents “only use cash” based on habit or preference.
Among them, 45.2% of the public expressed concerns about leaving transaction records with the digital New Taiwan Dollar. However, if there are international cybersecurity certifications or if the government only accesses data in legal and illegal activity investigation cases, over 70% of the public believe that this would alleviate their concerns.


Industry and Experts’ Perspectives
Financial institutions, payment service providers, and virtual asset operators have higher awareness levels than the general public, but over 70% of grassroots financial institutions express concerns about the potential impact of the digital New Taiwan Dollar, particularly in terms of weakening the role of financial intermediaries and increasing funding costs or liquidity risks.
However, these concerns may be reduced with viable business models or complementary measures.
Regarding the current design of the central bank’s digital New Taiwan Dollar, which includes features such as no interest in the initial stage but with interest-bearing functionality and setting different wallet amount limits based on identity verification levels, most operators consider them acceptable.
Government Perspectives
The majority of government agencies believe that introducing the digital New Taiwan Dollar will have positive benefits for their respective areas of responsibility.
Over half of the surveyed government agency respondents believe that foreign visitors should be allowed to apply for a digital New Taiwan Dollar wallet while visiting Taiwan, with accompanying measures such as identifying their foreign identity, limiting its use within the country, and setting lower amount limits compared to local citizens, in order to prevent the use of anonymous wallets by foreigners for money laundering or fraud.
Does Taiwan have the opportunity to issue a digital New Taiwan Dollar?
The central bank stated that it will review and revise the preliminary framework and design of the digital New Taiwan Dollar based on the results of the outsourced questionnaire survey. It will also hold public hearings, briefings, or forums to engage in more extensive and in-depth communication and exchanges with stakeholders to enhance public awareness of the digital New Taiwan Dollar.
At the same time, the central bank will continue to collect information on the legal amendments and developments regarding digital New Taiwan Dollars in major countries internationally, discuss relevant legal frameworks, and reconsider whether to implement pilot programs. The central bank emphasizes that if it decides to issue a digital New Taiwan Dollar in the future, it will be implemented in stages and will assess the most appropriate timing based on the maturity of international technologies and the actual needs of the public.
Furthermore, since remote areas and vulnerable groups still rely more on cash payments, the issuance of physical cash will be maintained when introducing the digital New Taiwan Dollar to accommodate market and public demands.
In terms of addressing concerns about privacy and the use of personal data among certain individuals, scholars suggest strengthening cybersecurity through technologies such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), zero-trust mechanisms, and digital signatures. For privacy protection, zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) and differential privacy techniques are recommended.
The central bank also stated that it will continue to study data management systems, define the scope of data usage, and enhance privacy protection mechanisms and cybersecurity technologies to increase public trust and reduce concerns.
The research and promotion of the digital New Taiwan Dollar are important measures for Taiwan’s central bank to adapt to the development of the times. Only through extensive surveys and communication can the needs and concerns of the public and industry be better understood. Whether or when the digital New Taiwan Dollar will be issued in the future is worth continuous observation.