Money: Who Has a Stake in the Most Value-Centric Common Design Material?

TL;DR

This paper explores how design can influence the values embedded in Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and reflection of diverse stakeholder perspectives to shape equitable monetary futures.

Contribution

It highlights the role of designers in shaping CBDC to reflect diverse values and stakeholder needs, promoting inclusivity and moral considerations in digital currency design.

Findings

CBDC presents both challenges and opportunities for value reform.

Design can influence how CBDC reflects trust, morality, and inclusivity.

Stakeholder insights suggest diverse needs must be considered in CBDC development.

Abstract

Money is more than just a numeric value. It embodies trust and moral gravity, and it offers flexible ways to transact. However, the emergence of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is set to bring about a drastic change in the future of money. This paper invites designers to reflect on their role in shaping material and immaterial monetary change. In this rapidly changing landscape, design could be instrumental in uncovering and showcasing the diverse values that money holds for different stakeholders. Understanding these diversities could promote a more equitable and inclusive financial, social, and global landscape within emergent forms of cash-like digital currency. Without such consideration, certain forms of money we have come to know could disappear, along with the values people hold upon them. We report on semi-structured interviews with stakeholders who have current knowledge or involvement in the emerging field of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Our research indicates that this new form of money presents both challenges and opportunities for designers. Specifically, we emphasise the potential for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to either positively or negatively reform values through its design. By considering time, reflecting present values, and promoting inclusion in its deployment, we can strive to ensure that Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) represents the diverse needs and perspectives of its users.