Skeptical of the project for a digital sterling, the British House of Lords underlined on Thursday the risks created by such an innovation without seeing any concrete advantage.

The Economic Affairs Committee of the British Upper House says in a report that it has "still not heard a convincing argument as to why the UK needs" a digital currency. Like many monetary institutions around the world, including the European Central Bank (ECB), the BoE is studying the possibility of issuing a digital currency, which would exist alongside cash and which individuals could use to make digitized payments without necessarily passing by banks.

In the report, the Chamber lists the risks it sees in this project: "state surveillance over how people choose to spend their money, the possibility of massive withdrawals from banks to the CBDC in the event of shock economy, an increase in the power of central banks, and the creation of a centralized weak point that could be targeted by "digital" attacks. "If the government wants to continue" with this project, "Parliament should be given the opportunity to vote on the final decision", concludes the report.