UDPN Partners with Digital Pound Foundation to support development of digital currencies

London, 17 January 2024 – The Universal Digital Payments Network (UDPN), a payment infrastructure that makes international payments possible for digital currencies of tomorrow, including regulated stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), has joined the Digital Pound Foundation (DPF) as a strategic partner. The Digital Pound Foundation is a member-led forum supporting the introduction of a well-designed digital Pound.

UDPN is a DLT-underpinned messaging backbone, focused on providing interoperability between regulated stablecoins and CBDCs, as well as seamless connectivity between any business IT system and regulated digital currencies. Developed with contributions from global IT engineering and solutions provider GFT, and decentralised cloud infrastructure company Red Date Technology, the UDPN promotes financial inclusion by allowing enterprises around the world to connect directly with the centralised and decentralised digital currency systems of the future.

The partnership between UDPN and the DPF will allow both entities to focus on policy and regulatory developments in different jurisdictions and explore the geo-political and monetary implications of new forms of digital money. The partnership will also explore the practical ways in which the DPF and its members can contribute to the ongoing pilot work and development of the UDPN.

The UDPN team is running a series of 12 proofs of concept with multiple global banks, technology companies and payment service providers, that allow participants to explore different use cases and scenarios. These include facilitating foreign exchange on digital currencies, CBDC systems and cross-border payments, and multiple wholesale CBDC settlement platforms. The UDPN team is encouraging interested industry parties to contact the team to explore how they can participate in the UDPN proofs of concept.

Steffen Schacher, UDPN Lead at GFT said: “Teaming up with the Digital Pound Foundation reinforces our commitment to advancing the landscape of future digital currencies. CBDCs and regulated stablecoins are expected to play a pivotal role in the evolving digital asset realm, particularly in facilitating seamless cross-border transactions.”

“Partnering with influential networks, such as the Digital Pound Foundation, will help shape the landscape of emerging technologies, not only in the retail space but also for interbank and wholesale use cases around digital currencies. Together, we’ll foster a deeper understanding and adoption of new and cutting-edge technologies to build the infrastructure for the future of finance.”

Jannah Patchay, Executive Director and Policy Lead, Digital Pound Foundation commented: “We warmly welcome the Universal Digital Payments Network to the DPF’s growing ecosystem. Adding UDPN to our partners programme provides an exciting opportunity for our members to engage with their work, including the potential to be involved in UDPN’s sandbox and proofs of concept, helping drive forward concrete use cases for CBDCs and stablecoins globally.”

Parties interested in exploring our PoC portfolio or joining the UDPN Alliance are invited to visit the UDPN official website at www.udpn.io or contact us at contact@udpn.io.