Ghana and Jamaica on track for the national digital currency

Also driven by the need to counter and anticipate private digital currencies and cryptocurrencies that are occupying the spaces of official national currencies, central banks are launching a barrage of experiments and introductory processes related to national digital currencies. The Bank of Jamaica has announced the start of work on its Central Bank Digital Currency, which was initially postponed a few months ago and brought back on track these days. The tests, in collaboration with commercial banks, depository institutions and payment platforms, will be launched in August on the dedicated sandbox that houses the entire infrastructure for issuing and checking the currency. The trial, launched in partnership with the Irish eCurrency Mint, aims for an official launch to be achieved by the end of the year with a 1: 1 exchange rate against the Jamaican dollar, the country’s official currency. As for Ghana, the first governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Maxwell Opoku-Afari, told Modern Ghana that the central bank is in the advanced stages of the pilot program for a national digital currency. Barring unforeseen circumstances, he noted that trials for the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will begin in September this year. Opoku-Afari added that the project will further promote financial inclusion, promote the efficiency and stability of the payment system and promote competition in the financial sector: “We need to take the time to design it with all the security features and then launch it. in a pilot phase through what we call a sandbox to learn how it works before opening it to the public ”. And, he added: “The pilot phase is expected to start by September and the success rate will determine the next step. We will continue to keep the sandbox active to promote innovation. ”The Digital Currency will be issued by the central bank which“ recognizes the need for the development of digital payments and the digital provision of financial services ”. The First Governor added that the widespread use of mobile money received a further boost when Ghana Interbank Payments and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) introduced the Quick Response (QR) Code national payment solution last year to simplify payments to customers. merchants and reduce the use of cash. The QR Code has since been made available to banks and payment service providers, as well as small and medium-sized businesses to improve business transactions.