This is a good way of putting it. Pounds in your bank aren't "digital currency" in this sense. They're privately provide bank IOUs. You still need cash to avoi

This is a good way of putting it. Pounds in your bank aren't "digital currency" in this sense. They're privately provide bank IOUs. You still need cash to avoid using a bank. With digital pounds, you can "stuff cash under your mattress" and use it without a bank. Iirc, the central bank keeps an anonymous ledger that you have "digital access" to. You can use an intermediary, eg., a bank, to keep track of the transaction and prevent deannonymisation by the central bank. Though i think you can also completely avoid that too.