Hours after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell declared 2021 to be a pivotal year in consulting the public on the digital dollar, his underlings issued a paper describing what that consultation might look like.

In a Wednesday FEDS Notes, Fed Reserve Senior Counsel Jess Cheng, Payments Specialist Angela N. Lawson and Technology Lab Manager Paul Wong said the onus would be on broadly engaging the public regarding the pros and cons of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC). 

Privacy issues, ease of use, security access, and delivery mechanisms should all be on the table as Fed officials work to “sharpen” a digital dollar with the public’s help, the paper said.