Ammar Zafar is a PhD researcher at the University of Liverpool’s School of Law and Social Justice.
My work examines the governance and legal foundations of digital money, including central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and emerging financial technologies. Drawing on an interdisciplinary background in law, economics, and science & technology, my research investigates how innovative forms of digital public money could impact economic stability, financial inclusion, and public trust in monetary systems institutions.
How did I become a researcher on digital currencies?
My interest in digital currencies developed while studying the changing nature of money and financial systems. Over the past decade, digital technologies have transformed how we pay for goods and services, from contactless cards to mobile banking apps and online payments. At the same time, governments and central banks around the world have begun exploring the idea of issuing their own digital currencies.
These developments raised important questions for me. If money becomes increasingly digital, how should it be governed? What role should public institutions play in managing new financial technologies? And how can digital currencies be introduced without creating risks for the wider financial system?
During my doctoral research at the University of Liverpool, I began exploring these questions through the combined perspectives of law, economics and public policy. By examining how central banks are approaching digital currencies, my research aims to understand how the design of these systems could influence the future structure of financial systems.
Why should we study digital public money?
Money plays a fundamental role in everyday life, yet the systems that support it are often taken for granted. Today, however, those systems are changing rapidly.
Central banks around the world are investigating central bank digital currencies, which are digital forms of national currency that the public could use alongside cash and traditional bank deposits. Some countries have already begun pilot programmes, while others are carefully studying how digital currencies might work in practice.
These developments raise important questions about financial stability, privacy and the role of governments in the digital economy. While digital currencies could make payments faster and more efficient, they also have the potential to reshape the relationships among central banks, commercial banks, and citizens.
Understanding these changes matters because the decisions made today will influence how money functions in the future.
What do I aim to find out, and why does it matter?
My research explores how different design choices for central bank digital currencies affect financial systems. For example, if individuals can hold digital money directly with central banks, this could alter the role of commercial banks and influence how financial crises unfold.
Another important area of my research focuses on financial inclusion. Digital currencies are often presented as tools that could expand access to financial services and make payments easier and cheaper. However, technology alone cannot solve financial exclusion. Factors such as digital infrastructure, financial literacy and public trust all influence whether new systems genuinely benefit those who currently face barriers to financial access.
By examining these issues, my research aims to contribute to wider debates about how digital money should be designed and governed.
What next?
After completing my PhD, I plan to continue researching the future of digital public money and its broader implications for financial governance. In particular, I am interested in how emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing, interact with digital financial systems and influence how financial institutions operate and make decisions.
As financial technologies continue to evolve, new questions are emerging about how digital money, artificial intelligence and data-driven financial systems may interact. Understanding how these technologies reshape monetary governance will be an important challenge for policymakers and researchers in the years ahead.