Bahamas is set to publish regulations that will require commercial banks to offer access to its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a bid to spur increased adoption.
According to Reuters, the Bahamas central bank governor, John Rolle, announced that the nation is making this move to solidify its position as the pioneering and leading country to launch e-money. Notably, the Bahamas was the first-ever country to launch a CBDC, as it issued its “Sand Dollar” digital currency in October 2020.
Rolle, the nation’s central bank governor, who supervised the launch of the Sand Dollar almost four years ago, noted that commercial banks were now being informed of regulations that would force them to support the CBDC. He added that these regulations will be implemented within the next two years.
As per his statement, commercial banks must adopt Web3 solutions and provide their customers with access to the CBDC, which is offered in two variations: retail, available to the public, and wholesale, available only to institutional clients.
The Sand Dollar currently accounts for less than 1% of currency in circulation in the Bahamas. According to the central bank’s data, wallet top-ups dropped to $12 million in the eight months leading up to August last year, compared to $49.8 million in the same period the year before.
The central bank is optimistic about this implementation, even though the order for the nation’s commercial banks to offer the Sand Dollar to clients would require them to make considerable changes to their information technology systems.
In a similar development, Iran recently announced the launching of its CBDC—the digital Rial—making it now accessible for local micropayments on Kish Island. Iran’s Bank Markazi stated this in a press release as part of the central bank’s efforts to modernise and streamline location transactions.
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