If this sounds outlandish, you should realize that we already have what amounts to central bank digital currency — but only for financial institutions. Could we retain private bank accounts but provide an efficient, publicly-run system for making payments out of those accounts? As a first step, back in 2020 it introduced Pix, a digital payment system run by the central bank. A Pix payment settles in 3 seconds on average versus 2 days for debit cards and 28 days for credit cards. Other nations may well learn from Brazil’s success in developing a digital payment system.