The Bank of Israel has reportedly already issued a central bank digital currency through a pilot test of a digital shekel.

According to a Monday written report from the Jerusalem Mail, Bank of Israel deputy governor, Andrew Abir, said the fiscal establishment had started to carry a pilot plan for a digital shekel. Speaking at a briefing of the Fair Value Forum of IDC Herzliya, Abir added that he was non optimistic virtually the bank issuing a fundamental banking company digital currency, or CBDC, despite the fact he confirmed a pilot examination was underway.

"I had previously estimated that the gamble of having a CBDC within five years is 20%," said Abir. "My estimate has increased a bit in the last yr, mainly because other countries are advancing with it besides, but nonetheless there is less than a 50% chance."

The Banking company of Israel has fabricated no formal announcement on its website regarding the issuance of a digital shekel at the time of publication. Last month, the financial institution said information technology was preparing an activity programme to explore the benefits of a CBDC on the Israeli economic system, adding it would be prepared to do and so should the benefits "outweigh the costs and potential risks."

Related: Israel's central bank floats possible digital shekel with new action plan

At the time, the central bank said it may consider issuing a CBDC if such meets the needs of the future digital economic system and provides more than efficient cross-border payments. Depository financial institution of Israel also hopes to reduce the use of cash and ensure the public can make payments with "a sure level of privacy."

"The pick for a CBDC is however being examined, and when we fabricated our statement last calendar month, it was not to say what we are doing, simply rather to share what we do not know and receive feedback from the public," said the deputy governor. He added that the country's banks "volition still have an important function in the entire payment organisation" post-obit whatsoever potential rollout of a digital shekel.

Despite his seeming willingness to eventually integrate a CBDC in the country's economy, Abir criticized Bitcoin (BTC) as a means of paymen:

"What we are talking about is a payment organization. Bitcoin is not a payment system, and it is non a currency. In the all-time situation, it is a fiscal asset, and in the worst case, it is a pyramid scam."

Israel's central bank brainstorm exploring the introduction of a CBDC iv years ago with the establishment of an interdepartmental group tasked with exploring the matter. In 2018, the team recommended against the Bank of Israel issuing a digital currency, maxim "no avant-garde economy has nonetheless issued digital currency for wide use."