Central banks are studying options to take central bank digital currency (CBDC) capabilities offline, says John Kiff, a retired International Monetary Fund financial expert.

In an article published by the IMF, Kiff says offline digital payment systems “could verify availability of funds and validate transactions without the need to check in with an online ledger”. The author explains central banks “could use old-tech, non-internet-driven mobile phones or something like a souped-up stored-value