Bank of England moves Digital Pound Lab into phase two The Bank of England has advanced its Digital Pound Lab programme to phase two, selecting the @0xPolygon network as the blockchain infras
The Bank of England has advanced its Digital Pound Lab programme to phase two, selecting the @0xPolygon network as the blockchain infrastructure for a new round of testing. The lab, which forms part of the Bank of England's continuing research into how a possible retail central bank digital currency could function alongside existing and emerging payment systems, has consistently brought in private sector partners to stress-test real-world use cases.
Phase one produced two sets of demonstration use cases, developed by the Bank in partnership with Accenture, and by a group of participants including NOBO Finance, LINK, and Yotra Limited.Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Sarah Breeden recognised the value of the lab in producing practical insights to inform the next generation of UK retail payments infrastructure.
NOBO Finance, Dun and Bradstreet, and Polygon Labs have joined phase two of the Digital Pound Lab to test SME trade finance flows that combine stablecoin payments, digital pound settlement, and reusable business identity.
The consortium will develop a reusable SME credit profile using transaction data, business intelligence, and Polygon-based smart contract infrastructure.A second workstream will test invoice factoring, where exporters receive stablecoin advances while UK importers complete final settlement in digital pounds. The initiative is designed to digitise trade finance processes and leverage Polygon's fast settlement capabilities for cross-border transactions involving global shipping partners.
Polygon Labs has noted that its network has settled more than $2.6 trillion in stablecoin transactions and is already used by companies including Revolut and Stripe. That track record appears to have made it a natural fit for the Bank of England's interoperability tests.
It is worth noting that the Digital Pound Lab uses no real customers or money and participation does not signal a formal commitment to launching a digital pound. The programme remains experimental in nature, designed to gather technical and commercial evidence before any policy decision is made.
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