The Central Banking Standards Organization (CBSO), launched in April 2025, is an independent, mission-driven body established to address the absence of a single, authoritative standards body guiding the evolution of central banking in a rapidly transforming international monetary system. The CBSO aims to unify and guide this evolution, which includes embracing digital currencies, grappling with quantum cybersecurity threats, redesigning cross-border infrastructure, and integrating AI into regulatory oversight.

The CBSO’s mandate is broad, spanning the entire functional architecture of central banks, not just digital currencies. It is the root standards body for “Central Banking 4.0,” covering areas from monetary operations and financial market infrastructure to digital identity, cross-border interoperability, and post-quantum security. This encompasses standards for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), regulated stablecoins, systemic resilience, secure ledger infrastructure, cloud integration, and AI-driven supervisory tooling. The CBSO was created to ensure the next chapter of central banking is coordinated, secure, and future-proof, providing the foundation for trustworthy, inclusive, and interoperable money in a digitized global economy.

This Manifesto and Inception Report outlines the CBSO’s founding mission, structural blueprint, and immediate roadmap. It serves as a blueprint for the comprehensive transformation of central banking in the digital, tokenized, and post-quantum world, calling for endorsement, funding, and participation from governments, multilaterals, and industry stakeholders.