The U.S. Federal Reserve is looking to hire a manager for its Retail Payments division in Washington, DC.

The central bank posted the job opening for a new manager to contribute to the research of digital currencies, stablecoins and distributed ledger technologies. 

As well as the main duties and responsibilities, the role also requires the manager to promote and work on the development and implementation of new policies, regulations and research regarding retail payment systems.

The new manager will work within the Retail Payments section, which monitors the ‘Federal Reserve Banks' check and automated clearinghouse services, facilitates research in retail payments innovation, and addresses policy and regulatory issues concerning retail payment systems’ says a Coin Telegraph report.

The fact that the Fed is expanding the role of the Retail Payments manager to take into account digital currencies, stablecoins and distributed ledger technologies could be an indication it is researching the possibility of launching a U.S. dollar digital currency.

At the beginning of October, the president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve bank said it is “inevitable” for the central banks including the Fed, to begin issuing digital currency.

Whilst speaking at a community banking conference in St. Louis, Patrick Harker said: “It is inevitable … I think it is better for us to start getting our hands around it,” in answer to a question about the Fed’s decision to create its own real-time payments system known as FedNow.

The president added: “I am looking at the next five years after that. What comes next? I do think it is something around digital currency.”

This is a view echoed by deVere CEO and founder, Nigel Green, who has been quoted on numerous occasions as saying: “Cryptocurrencies are the future of money and are now unquestionably part of mainstream finance.

“There will be no limit for cryptocurrencies, which are increasingly being accepted by retail and institutional investors as the future of money.”