In August 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, announced that it would research and test leading technologies to determine design requirements for a US-based central bank digital currency. Jim Cunha, senior vice-president, secure payments and fintech, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, discusses this initiative as well as the wider impact of distributed ledger technology on the financial system. The meeting also covers national efforts to increase security and reduce payment fraud in the US.