The central bank of Bahamas has been working on the digital version of its national currency Bahamian dollar. The pilot project will be launched in the Exuma district on 27th December. The project will be extended to Abaco in the first half of 2020.
Digital currency will make access to the financial system more efficient.
The regulators believe that the introduction of the Bahamian dollar will make access to the financial system more efficient and non-discriminatory. The central bank said that the “Sand Dollar” is not a cryptocurrency, stablecoin, or competitor to the Bahamian dollar. It is a digital fiat currency. But the bank plans to launch a fully-fledged central bank digital currency in the future.
Sand Dollar will help in tackling money laundering.
The officials of the central bank of Bahamas said that the digital version of the national currency would help in combating money laundering, terror financing, and other illegal activities. The announcement stated that the advantages of the digital currencies include a potential suppression of economic costs associated with cash usage and benefits the Government from improved expenditure and tax administration systems. Countries like China, Turkey, Russia and USA are also considering to launch a central bank-backed digital currency.
