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Advanced Workshops

Digital Currencies

Come up to speed quickly on digital currencies

Digital currencies – cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and CBDCs – are changing the long-term plans of both central banks and payments providers –– and making everyone rethink account-based and currency-based systems. In an unprecedented move, prior to launching domestic CBDCs, multi-country pilots are exploring the promise and risks of cross-border CBDC systems.

This workshop is designed for payments professionals that want to learn how new digital currencies impact the payments ecosystem, and how they may someday reshape everything from the six payments domains to our global economy. We begin the workshop by examining token-based payment systems and how they differ from account-based payment systems. We consider different types of money and where digital currencies fit within these categorizations. After reviewing the fundamentals of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, we look at the key design questions for digital currency systems. We finish by looking at the various stakeholders required to process digital currency payments and the current state-of-the-market in stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and cross-border CBDC models.

Agenda

Key Concepts

  • The purpose of money
  • Account-based vs Token-based Payment Systems
  • Crypto, Stablecoin, and Central Bank Digital Currencies Compared
  • The Internet of Value Exchange

Digital Currency Building Blocks

  • Key Questions in Digital Currency System Design
  • Digital Currency Wallets
  • Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers
  • Smart Contracts

 

Stakeholders 

  • Digital Currency System Value Chain
  • End User Perspectives: Consumers, Merchants
  • New Infrastructure Providers
  • Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)
  • Incumbent and New Providers: Banks, Networks, PSPs, Processors

 

Stablecoin Systems 

  • Four types of stablecoins
  • Current landscape
  • Emerging Use Cases

 

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Systems 

  • Two forms of CBDC
  • Regulatory perspectives on CBDCs
  • Early adopters: DCash, Sand Dollar, e-Yuan
  • What We’re Watching

 

Cross-border CBDC Systems  

  • Today’s Correspondent Banking Model
  • The challenges of correspondent banking
  • Cross-border payments with Stablecoins
  • Cross-border payments with CBDCs
  • What We’re Watching

 

Wrap Up & Q&A

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Live Workshops

Glenbrook’s small-group workshops with ample time for interaction and Q&A with facilitators and other participants.

On-Demand Learning

Glenbrook’s On-Demand Learning program combines our expertly curated payments education content and experienced instruction with a self-paced format that fits your schedule.

Private Workshops

Customized, private workshops tailored to meet your team’s unique needs.

Resources

Discover Glenbrook’s resources - curated Payments News, insightful white papers and Payments Views posts, and our popular Payments on Fire podcast. 

Latest Payments on Fire® Podcasts

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Going global with your payments strategy requires far more than choosing a single payment provider: companies must weigh local acquiring versus cross-border acquiring, country-by-country payment preferences, entity structure, tax implications, compliance requirements, authorization performance, currency handling, and provider coverage.

In this episode, Chris Uriarte joins Glenbrook colleagues Samantha Gordon, Simon Skinner, and Drew Edmond to explore the complexities and potential benefits for merchants and platforms to consider when expanding payments globally.

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Episode 295 – Fanning the Flames – 2026 Mid-Year Payments Industry Trends Update

Episode 295 – Fanning the Flames – 2026 Mid-Year Payments Industry Trends Update

The Glenbrook team is taking stock in June 2026 to see how the predictions from our January episode are holding up. Tune in for updates on trending topics in payments, including agentic commerce, stablecoins, cross-border and instant payments, risk and fraud, and the regulatory landscape. We also share insights on the “hot off the presses” news on tokenized deposits and the Visa/Mastercard interchange settlement.

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Episode 294 – Zelle’s Evolution in the Payments Landscape, with Preston McCaskill, Early Warning Services

Episode 294 – Zelle’s Evolution in the Payments Landscape, with Preston McCaskill, Early Warning Services

In this episode, Russ Jones welcomes Preston McCaskill, COO for Zelle, an open loop fast payments network owned and operated by Early Warning Services, to discuss the network’s growth, settlement process and alias directory, and expanding use cases.

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