About the Challenge

A retail Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) built for next-generation financial rails has the potential to increase payment efficiencies, improve financial inclusion and support the broader digitalisation drive in the economy. The Global CBDC Challenge launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, in partnership with the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Capital Development Fund, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, United Nations Development Programme, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), seeks innovative retail CBDC solutions to enhance payment efficiencies and promote financial inclusion.

Up to 15 finalists will be selected to network with global leaders / industry experts and be given access to the APIX Digital Currency Sandbox for rapid prototyping of digital currency solutions. The Sandbox will offer a comprehensive test and development platform that includes core-banking APIs from APIX, payment APIs from Mojaloop Foundation, digital currency APIs from Mastercard, Partior, and R3, and more than 100 APIs provided via the APIX marketplace. Participants may also engage the Hyperledger global open source developer community for support and collaboration technologies. Additionally, Amazon Web Services will support finalists by providing access to the AWS platform and AWS promotional credits. [Note: These Technology Partners have made their technologies available for finalists and provided suggestions to accelerate the development of your solution. However, utilising the Technology Partners’ provided sandbox or technology is not mandatory. These technology partners are independent of the judging process.]

Finalists of the Challenge will have the chance to pitch their solutions to the global audience at the Demo Day to be held at this year’s Singapore FinTech Festival in November 2021. Up to three winners will be selected to receive S$150,000 in cash prizes.

Requirements

Participants are required to submit a proposal describing your solution in detail and explaining how your solution can solve the selected problem statements(s). Utilising the Technology Partners’ provided sandbox or technology is not mandatory. You can opt to submit your proposal entirely using your own solution or a permutation of technologies provided by the technology partners.

The Global CBDC Challenge is open to everyone and anyone around the world. We welcome submissions from individuals or teams (teams may comprise of members from different organisations). Participants are strongly encouraged to cover more than one problem statement in their submissions. Participants who attempt to discuss how the remaining problem statements could also be approached would be considered favourably.

Judging Criteria

Experience and Skills:

1. Team experience and track record in implementing similar solutions
2. Team has multi-discipline skillsets across different areas that are proposed in the solution

Content:

1. Quality of the solution with proper structure
2. Understanding of technology, policy and economics behind the problem statement
3. Market Analysis and Insights that support the Content

Problem Statements Approach

1. Number of Problem Statements that the proposed solution is able to solve
2. How well the solution address the 3 Categories (Instrument, Distribution and Infrastructure) in tandem

Execution Plan

1. Articulation of the Technology stack that the proposed solution will utilise
2. Quality of the Execution Plan (Task and Timeline) of the proposed solution
3. Feasibility of the Proposed plan