In this Wednesday, March 3, 2021 file photo, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference following the 2021 Budget, in 10 Downing Street, London.
The bank said the new currency, if it comes to pass, would be a new form of digital money for use by households and businesses and would exist alongside cash and bank deposits, rather than replacing them. “The world is going the way of digital currencies and we have to find a place for them in the mainstream,” said Anne Boden, founder and chief executive of app-based Starling Bank.One of the benefits of a digital currency would be as a backup to card payments if cash payments continue to drop in the years to come — by the end of this decade, only one in 10 payments in the UK are expected to be made with traditional paper money.