Interoperability, privacy, and infrastructure still pose hurdles to retail CBDC adoption, a survey by GlobalData reveals.

Blandina Szalay, banking and payments analyst at GlobalData, says the “very limited uptake of CBDC in countries where it fully launched — in the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union, and Nigeria — can be attributed to the lack of compelling incentives for consumers to switch to CBDCs from the payment methods they are already used to.”

Convenience and habit also play a big role in how people choose to pay. According to GlobalData, CBDCs haven’t yet delivered enough benefits to make them a better option. In fact, in places with active CBDC programs, users have complained that the new systems make payments more complicated without “offering sufficient benefits.”

For central banks, the challenge isn’t just technical though. Szalay says that reaching widespread adoption is crucial to achieving the benefits CBDCs are supposed to bring, like improved “cross-border payment efficiencies, fostering financial inclusion, and newfound financial and monetary stability.”