Bahamas CBDC ‘Sand Dollar’ planned for launching in October

The Bahamas is most likely going to be the first country to officially release the national central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) which is known is ‘Sand Dollar.’ The Bahamas CBDC is coming as the country’s plan to facilitate a more streamlined means of monetary transaction especially for the remote islands within the archipelago nation.

Bahamas CBDC to launch next month 

As Bloomberg reported, Bahamas CBDC will be rolled out by the country’s central bank in October. The officials added that the launching would see the digital currency available nationwide. The assistant manager of eSolutions at the Central Bank of The Bahamas, Chaozhen Chen, commented:

“A lot of residents in those more remote islands don’t have access to digital payment infrastructure or banking infrastructure. We really had to customize the effort and the solution to what we need as a sovereign nation.”

Following the report, the Bahamas CBDC will bear the same value of the Bahamian dollar, which is equally pegged to the United States dollar. Giving that many people in the country are using mobiles, the Sand Dollar is designed in a way that the holders can make transactions with it through their mobile phones, even when they are not online, the report reads.

Banks racing for digital currencies

Chen further noted that the Bahamas CBDC will be minted by the central bank in accordance with the growth in its demand. However, it will only be issued for public use only when the Bahamian dollars have been retired, so that the monetary policy doesn’t become skewed. At the moment, there are only $48,000 worth of Sand Dollars on the bank’s balance sheet, as the officials revealed.

Once launched, the Bahamas will become the first country to release a CBDC for nationwide use. Other notable countries like China have since announced plans to develop a CBDC which will serve as the digital version of the Yuan.